My True Calling
by Ca1piggy
Summary: What happens if Bell Cranel joined a different familia? I do not own Danmachi.
1. Chapter 1

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**A New Start**

After his grandfather disappeared, Bell Cranel went to Orario to become an adventurer. Living in a cheap hotel, he went around to the various familias. Even though the rabbit boy was rejected by everyone, he kept trying.

It was Bell's 3rd day in Orario, as he walked around the city, a large badass-looking Boaz walked up to him.

Boaz "Do you wish to join a familia?"

Bell "Yes I do!"

Boaz "Then follow me"

Thus the rabbit boy followed the Boaz as he headed towards the entertainment district...


	2. Chapter 2

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

As the rabbit boy followed the Boaz through the entertainment district, he was getting worried. Many scantily-cladded amazons made offers along the way, and many in the past have said that he was a pretty boy. So what type of strange familia could he be joining?

Nevertheless, he continued to follow. With the large sword on his back, the Boaz did not look like someone to piss off.

After some time, they reached a large complex. The rabbit boy remembered submitting his application there, but was immediately rejected. However, he did not recall which familia it was.

After entering a large building, they eventually went into a large room. In the room was a very beautiful lady smiling at the rabbit boy.

Lady "Welcome, young one"


	3. Chapter 3

**Heaven**

Bell saw the very beautiful lady sitting on a 'throne' in a large room with super high ceiling. After she welcomed him, she continued to talk.

Lady "Come here, young one. Let me get a good look at you."

Bell obediently followed her instructions. She was so beautiful and mesmerizing that it was hard to say no.

Lady "You are so pure and clear, you are going to be my favorite", as she petted him and kissed him on the cheek. The kiss was so incredible that his cheek felt like it was burning. Bell had never felt something like this before, and he was positively totally in heaven.

Lady "Now it is time for me to give you my falna. Follow me", as she led the blissful obedient Bell to an adjoining room.

There was a bed on one side of the room, which also had a table and some other furniture. The lady told Bell to lie down on the bed and take off his shirt, which he happily complied. As he laid face down on his pillow, the lady sat next to him and put a drop of blood on his back for the falna. After the falna was complete, she held Bell's hand and guided him to his room.

Lady "This is your room. My room is just next door, so you can visit me if you get lonely", making Bell embarrassed. Someone will come to help you get your luggage delivered here. Dinner is at 6pm everyday, and you will be sitting at my table."

Bell then went into his room, and looked at how nice it was compared to his cheap hotel. The furniture was expensive, and there was even a painting with several magic lamps which provided excellent lighting. There was also a balcony and a great view of the city as his room was on a high floor. Bell thought about how amazing his life had become. It was indeed a dream come true.


	4. Chapter 4

**Beginnings**

Before Bell knew it, it was almost dinner time. When his luggage arrived, the staff woke him up from his short nap. Yes, it really happened. He was accepted in a familia, his room was amazing and his goddess was gorgeous.

After a quick shower, it was time for the 6pm dinner. He found the dining room and found his table with his goddess. There were 3 seats, for the goddess, the Boaz and himself.

Lady "Well Bell-kun, you look refreshed. Great"

Bell "Yes thank you."

A staff member came by "Good evening, Lady Freya, what would you like to dinner tonight?"

Freya "I will have the fish, with some tomato soup"

Staff member "Lord Ottar, and you, sir?"

Ottar "The steak and potatoes"

Staff member "And you, young man?"

Bell "I will have the fish and tomato soup also"

Freya "Well Bell-kun, we were going to do introductions, but now it has been done for us"

Bell "Goddess Freya, thank you for everything. Lord Ottar, I hope to learn from you"

Ottar "Tomorrow, you will register at the guild. And you will take a short training course"

The dinner was delicious. There was not a great deal of conversation, but Bell did feel that many were looking at their table. The looks did not seem friendly but he kept it to himself.

After dinner, Bell received a tour of the complex from another staff member. He seem the center of attention of the entire complex, but he was not sure why.

The Freya complex was huge and very sophisticated, though kind of in a cool and aloof way. Nevertheless, Bell was really thankful for his new circumstances. After the tour, he retired in his room and went to bed early to be ready for the next day.

\- The Next Morning -

Bell woke up very early. He had an early breakfast, and a staff member took him to the guild. His dungeon advisor was a pretty half-elf named Eina. She was nice, but seemed very careful particularly when his advisor was there.

After the guild, he was taken back to the Freya complex. It was time for his introductory class. He was taught by a level 3 adventurer after he selected knives as his weapon. He received basic fundamental lessons on fighting, the dungeon and even the city.

After a long day of lessons, it was time for dinner. But he was told that he would be dining with his goddess in her suite that night. The dinner plans made him feel nervous but excited at the same time. He did not have to go into the dungeon to meet his beautiful goddess, but her beauty was really intense and mesmerizing at the same time...


	5. Chapter 5

**Freya**

Dinner at Freya's suite was very nice. The mood was special with dinner by candlelight. And the food was even better than in the dining room.

The main course was prawns and crab in a zesty sauce. Everything was so perfect, and Bell have never enjoyed such a luxurious meal.

They talked a lot. Freya asked about his family, and Bell told her the sad story about his grandfather. Then it came to why Bell wanted to be an adventurer.

Freya "So why did you come to Orario?"

Bell "I wanted to be an adventurer like my grandpa told me to"

Freya "Why do you want to be an adventurer?"

Bell was super-embarrassed but he was unable to lie "My grandfather said I should pick up pretty girls in the dungeon"

Freya was amused "That is really cute. So is that the only place your grandfather told you to pick up pretty girls?"

Bell "We only discussed that though"

Freya "So Bell-kun, am I a pretty girl?"

Bell "But you are a goddess"

Freya came closer to Bell "Am I a pretty goddess?"

Bell "Yes you are"

Freya "How pretty?"

Bell "Very pretty"

Freya "What did your grandfather said to do when you find a pretty girl"

Bell blushed crimson red "He said I needed to save her so she will fall in love with me"

Freya was enjoying the pure soul and asked further "So if she falls in love with you, what did your grandfather say to do"

Bell "He said I could have a harem"

Freya "So your grandfather is ambitious"

Freya "Bell-kun, so do you want me in your harem?"

Bell "But you are my goddess."

Freya "Would you want me in your harem if I am a normal girl?"

Bell looked down "Yes"

Freya "So Bell-kun, what do you think about me?"

Bell still looking down "You are really nice to me and you are really pretty"

Freya "Do you want to kiss me?"

Tomato red Bell "Yes"

Freya "So why don't you give me a kiss?"

Tomato red Bell "But you are my goddess. I have to respect you"

Pleased with the answers, Freya chose not to tease Bell any more.

And they were finished with the main course - the food and not Bell.

Dessert was a fruit souffle. Never having a souffle before, Bell did not know how to eat it. So Freya moved her seat next to Bell to teach him. After scooping out the middle and putting in the fruit, she fed him the delicious sweetness.

It was a mesmerizing experience. One spoon for Bell, one spoon for Freya, another spoon for Bell, and another spoon for Freya. In Bell's blissful state, the idea of sharing a spoon did not even register to Bell, but they savored the souffles. One spoon after another spoon, he was fed. After the last bite, there was a sizzling kiss on the cheek as the cherry on top. Seeing stars circling him, Bell was dumbfounded and unable to say anything.

Freya "Bell-kun, so the naughty boy likes his dessert. Now off you go to bed", yet another hot sizzling kiss on the other cheek.

Following directions, Bell went back to his room in a daze and a stupid smile on his face...


	6. Chapter 6

Back in his room, Bell finally reflected on what happened. Could this really have happened? His goddess fed him dessert and they shared spoons! OMG!

Nevertheless, he had a long day tomorrow as it would be his first day in the dungeon. So he had to control himself and get ready. After much struggling, he fell asleep.

The next morning, Bell went down to the dining room for an early breakfast. His goddess and Lord Ottar were not there, so he ate by himself. He did noticed a lot of people were staring at him. And those did not seem like friendly stares.

In particular, there was a cat person who looked at Bell with disdain. There were also a few pallums who were giving him the evil eye. What was going on.

Pallum 1 "What a worthless weakling, what is he even doing here"

Pallum 2 "I heard he was rejected but Ottar went and fetched him later"

Pallum 3 "I don't think he is here for adventuring. The goddess probably wanted a teddy bear to play with every night"

Pallum 2 "I bet you he will not last a day in the dungeon."

Pallum 4 "He is too precious to go in the dungeon"

Pallum 1 laughed "The goddess will probably have Ottar guard her little boy-toy"

Precious! BOY-TOY! That was too much for Bell. The discussion was vile, and he knew he was nothing compared to these adventurers. However the discussion continued to be really mean.

Pallum 2 "How much you want to bet that he dies after 1 week?"

Pallum 4 "I rather bet whether he goes into the dungeon or not. Looks like he will cry if a monster comes at him"

Pallum 1 laughed "I bet he will wet his pants with the first goblin. May be we can pants him and see whether he is wearing diapers"

The 4 pallums ROTFLOL while humiliating Bell, who they knew could hear them. This was making Bell furious but he did not want to cause trouble. However he lost his appetite so he left. Unfortunately, the 4 pallums noticed this and carefully tailed him.

As Bell left the Freya complex, the 4 pallums followed him while keeping a good distance away. After passing through the busy entertainment district, they started running after Bell, who ran for his life. Even though Bell ran faster than he ever ran in his life, they eventually caught up to him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Humiliation**

As fast as Bell could run, the 4 pallums were faster. They were obviously advanced adventurers who quickly caught up to Bell. Unfortunately, they were in a quiet part of Orario when one of the pallums had the rabbit boy by his neck.

The Pallum who grabbed the struggling Bell "You are pretty fast, bunny boy."

Another pallum "Let's see who wins the bet", pushing Bell face down onto the ground.

No matter how much Bell struggled, it was hopeless. As one pallum grabbed onto Bell's 2 arms. another grabbed onto Bell's legs. A third pallum then pulled down Bell's pants. Bell bravely held in his tears while the humiliation continued. All he could do was to bite his lips and hold onto his pride.

The pallum who pulled off Bell's pants "Crap, no diaper!"

Another pallum "LOL, you lost. Well you get to put on his diaper then!"

Some how, they had a white piece of cloth, and they fastened it to Bell's body like an adult diaper using some rope. Bell struggled the entire time, but that just earned him slaps on the head.

Suddenly, a girl said sternly "What is going on here"

As the pallums looked back, they saw a girl with golden hair and golden eyes.

The Pallum who held on Bell's hands "Kenki, this is none of your business"

Ais "Even if you are the Freya familia, you cannot do that to Orario citizens"

Another pallum "Doll face, this is familia business. Walk away or we will have some fun with you"

Ais drew her sword "You Gulliver brothers have no respect"

Bell looked on while still being held down. Two of the brothers jumped at Ais, who quickly knocked both back with her sword. As their weapons clashed, the young girl had both brothers on the defensive. Then there were a few voices in the background.

A female "Ais, there you are"

A male "Ais, what is going on"

At that point, 2 amazons and a werewolf approached with their weapons drawn.

Seeing this, the 4 pallums quickly left, leaving Bell in a 'diaper' on the ground.

No longer held down, Bell rolled over. Then he saw the most beautiful sweet-looking girl with golden hair and golden eyes looking right at him. She looked somewhat embarrassed probably due to the state he was in.

Ais gave Bell her hand to help him up "Are you alright?"

Realizing he was in a diaper in front of this beautiful girl of his dreams, Bell went into a state of shock. Even though she saved him, he could not believe he was in this most incredibly humiliating state. As blood rushed to his head, he ran for his life. Instead of taking her arm, he ran away without thanking her.

Bete "Ais, what was going on with the Gulliver brothers? Wait, did I just see a grown boy with a diaper running away at lightning speed? Diaper boy ROTFLOL"

Tiona "Ais, are you ok?"

Ais "It seems they were bullying a young member of their familia."

Bete "But diaper boy did not even thank you for saving him? What a loser! LOL LOL LOL"

Tione "The Freya familia is sure weird"

Meanwhile, Bell ran away in the diaper looking for something to wear. Fortunately, her saviors quickly left and he was able to double back to get his pants.

Having retrieved his pants, he quickly put it on. The humiliation was still making his heart race, but so was the beautiful girl with the golden hair and golden eyes. His goddess was stunningly beautiful, but the girl was so pretty. So pretty and so sweet looking, like the type he wanted to bring back home to show his grandpa. And she saved him, instead of him saving her. How ridiculous, but he realized that she was a thousand times stronger than him. Nevertheless, he was in love and he wanted the Kenki as she was called.

But now what was Bell going to do? How could he possibly return back to his familia? How would he face those 4 pallums? How would he face Lord Ottar and Goddess Freya? Not knowing what to do, he headed for the dungeon, which was his original plan for the day...


	8. Chapter 8

**Motivation**

Bell went into the dungeon for the 1st time. Following the earlier advice from Eina and his level 3 advisor, he did not go deep. He stayed in the 1st 3 levels killing mostly lizards, kobolds and goblins. It was easier than he thought and he was good at it. Driven by his new desire for the Kenki and the shame of being weak, he wanted to be strong enough to be worthy of the Kenki. Within a few hours, he killed enough monsters to have a large bag of magic stones. In those few hours, he decided he was not going back to the Freya complex. He decided to get much stronger before setting foot back in the complex.

Going to the guild to trade in his magic stones, he saw Eina there. Shocked with the amount of magic stones, Eina asked what happened. Though he did not tell her about those pallums, he told Eina about how the Kenki saved him from some bullies.

Bell "So what about the Kenki"

Eina "Have you fallen for Ais Wallenstein, that is her name"

Bell "No ... ... ... Yes I have"

Eina "I can only tell you public information. That she is the central pillar of the Loki familia. That there has been a 1000 failed attempts at gaining her affection. I do not believe she has ever had a boyfriend and is more concerned with being strong"

Eina continued "But Bell, you realize it is almost impossible for someone in the Freya familia to date someone in the Loki familia? They are the 2 strongest familias, and their are rival familias"

Seeing the sad expression on Bell, Eina "But if you get stronger, you may catch her attention"

That made Bell very happy as he left. Bell "Eina, thank you, I love you", shocking Eina's colleagues and turning Eina's elf ears red.

Armed with money, Bell happily went to the cheap hotel he was familiar with to get a room. Bell continued to live in the same hotel for about a week and continued to go into the dungeon to earn money everyday. There were no more interactions with his familia, but he did feel like someone was 'watching' him.

Bell also had some strange dreams every night. One recurring dream was that Goddess Freya sneaked into his room at night. In the recurring dream, the goddess would update his status while giving him a kiss on the cheek.

After the week was past, Bell had gotten used to the 4th floor as he got better and better with his technique. It was now time to start entering the 5th floor. As Bell headed to the dungeon, a girl said something to him.

Girl "Mr. Adventurer, did you drop this?"

Bell turned around and saw a girl holding a magic stone. Since he was not carrying any money, he was going to tell her no. But it was hard to say no to such a cute girl.

Girl "It must be yours. Please take it."

As Bell was again about to say no, his stomach made a terrible noise.

The girl giggled "You must be hungry, come with me and I will get you some food"

He was really hungry because he skipped breakfast, so he follow the girl to a pub.

Girl "I am Syr, what is your name?"

Bell "Hi Syr, I am Bell"

Syr "Nice to meet you, Bell. Wait here while I go inside to get you something"

Bell "Alright"

In a couple minutes, Syr came outside with a basket.

Bell "How do I repay you?"

Syr "Come here for dinner tonight with your dungeon earnings. I work here."

Realizing that he has been had, Bell agreed and headed off to the dungeon.

It was Bell's first day on the 5th floor. As he continued killing monsters, he heard screams and the roaring of a fierce monster. Suddenly a large bull monster, a minotaur, ran towards him! Minotaurs are not supposed to be on the 5th floor!

Bell tried to fight off the monster but it was far too strong. Terrified, he ran away from it but was eventually cornered in a dead-end. It looked like the end, but suddenly a sword cut through the monster, splattering blood all over Bell. With the monster turning to dust, he saw a beautiful girl with golden hair and golden eyes, again.

Ais "Are you alright?"

Instead of talking, Bell ran for his life while cursing himself for running from his savior, again. Ais was left confused standing there with a pout on her face while one of her companions teased her about diaper boy.

After his near-death experience, Bell went back to the guild to see Eina. His blood-covered appearance earned him a lecture. After cleaning up, Eina told him never to walk into the guild with blood all over him again. Even though she was shocked about a minotaur on the 5th floor, she teased him about hopelessly running away from his crush again.

Now it was time to go to dinner and he needed to keep the promise he made to Syr. After a short walk around town, he managed to find the pub that Syr worked in, the Hostess of Fertility. When he walked in, a happy Syr came up to him.

Syr with big smile "You came! I will take you to your table!", dragging Bell by the hand.

As they walked, a large dwarf lady came up to them.

Dwarf "So you are the one that Syr gave her breakfast to. She was really hungry, so you better order a lot of food to thank her for her sacrifice."

Dwarf "But you are a cute one, no wonder Syr gave you her breakfast", making Syr red and Bell speechless.

Dwarf "And I am Mia"

After a lot of food was brought to Bell, he noticed a large group went into the restaurant. Ais was in the large group of what seemed to be very powerful adventurers, including a pallum, a dwarf, an elf, a werewolf and 2 amazons. They seemed to be in a merry mode celebrating something.

As Bell ate, he could not help but hear what the large group was talking about. Apparently they were the executives of the Loki familia and they just completed a deep dungeon mission. Then the topic of their conversation changed.

Werewolf laughed "Ais, are you going to tell us about the diaper boy?", making Bell cringe...


	9. Chapter 9

**Drastic Measures**

The Werewolf pushed Ais for an answer "Ais, are you going to tell us about the diaper boy?", Bell cringed while waiting for the answer.

Ais calmly "It was our fault that the minotaur escaped to the 5th floor"

The werewolf doubled down "What an total loser. You saved him and the boy becomes tomato red in cow blood. And yet he runs away like a baby."

An another female voice "Bete, you are drunk, be quiet and be respectful"

Bete continued further "If it was between me and that diaper boy, Ais, who would you choose to be your partner? Which one would wag your tail?"

After the deluge of vulgar comments, Bell could not take it any more and ran out of the pub. The Loki familia noticed the running customer, and Ais noticed it was that boy. Feeling really bad and wanting to apologize, she ran after him, but stopped at the door as Bell ran away at record speed.

After running from the restaurant, Bell was furious. He was angry with the werewolf, but he was the most angry at himself. He hated being weak, but he was the weakest of the weak. While furious, he went into the dungeon at night to take it out on himself and the monsters.

\- Ais POV -

Ais was furious with the drunk wolf, but seeing the young adventurer run off broke mini-Ais' heart. Something broke inside her seeing Bell run off. She wanted to apologize to him for letting the minotaur escape up to the 5th floor, but that Bete was impossible.

\- Inside the Dungeon -

Bell was out of control, and he went on a killing spree. He did not stop at the 5th floor, as he went all the way down to the 6th floor. After a long bloody battle with more than 10 war shadows, he went back up to the surface all cut up and bleeding. As he left the Babel, he fell unconscious but was caught by someone strong.

\- In Bell's Hotel Room from Freya's POV -

After Bell was brought to the hotel room, the Goddess watched him sleep while updating his status. She had been watching her prized one for a week from afar since he left her complex. She was so incredibly angry when she discovered why Bell went missing. After an insanely-scary interrogation of the Gulliver Brothers, the punishment was the most severe ever given in her familia. She was now very concerned but also thankful that Bell survived his crazy battle in the dungeon.

Yet there was upside to what happened. Bell's soul was the most pure and clear to start with. While the diaper event clouded up his soul temporarily, something incredible happened after being saved by Ais Wallenstein. Whatever happened, it made Bell's soul shone more brilliantly that she could hardly believe it. To confirm his situation, the same night that Bell checked into his hotel, Freya secretly went inside his hotel room. She had to confirm her suspicions even if she had to use some drastic measures to put Bell to sleep from the outside. Freya then discovered that Bell gained something unique and unprecedented, a new skill called liaris freese. The skill caused unusually strong growth due to an extremely strong desire. So long as the desire continued to be extremely-strong, the growth will continue accordingly. She realized that this skill had to be hidden from Bell and from the rest of Orario.

Indeed, with Bell's latest update, his status was already 1/3 of the way into level 1, something unthinkable given that Bell was only 10 days into level 1. And Freya knew this was the result of his special skill. It was all due to Ais Wallenstein. It pained her greatly and hurt her pride a lot, but she was sure of it. But yet, she gets to enjoy the purity and amazing brilliance due to the boy's enormous crush on the Kenki. She wished it was her, but there was nothing she could do short of using her arcanum. She could only watch and support Bell's growth, and she is going to have to tolerate the boy's crush on the rival familia's ace.

\- The Next Morning in the Hotel Room -

Bell woke up, and when he opened his eyes, he was shocked. His goddess and Lord Ottar were in his hotel room staring right at him. He remembered someone catching him while he fell after leaving the Babel, so that must have been Lord Ottar.

Freya "Little one, you put a scare in me. Do not do that again."

Bell "Goddess, I am sorry."

Freya "I know why you left, and those responsible have been severely punished. That will never happen again. You are free to return to us when you are ready. I will not rush you"

Bell "Goddess, I want to get stronger. Please give me some time."

Freya "That is fine. You have time. I will visit you to update your status."

Ottar "Bell, you need to find some other adventurer to form a party. It is safer and will allow you to go deeper"

Bell "Yes, Lord Ottar"

Freya "Here is a copy of your status. As you can see, you have made incredible progress so you have a lot of talent. Please do not waste it, and do not make me worry like that again."

Bell "I am sorry I made you worried. Goddess Freya"

Ottar "Bell, this is a gift from the goddess", giving Bell two beautiful all-black daggers with magic inscriptions on the blades. The weapons were clearly 1st class weapons, and even Bell could tell that.

Bell "Goddess, I do not deserve such special weapons!"

Freya "This is a gift from your goddess so you should just receive them graciously and use them well. And furthermore, these blades are alive. They will grow with you. The stronger you get, the stronger the blades will get."

Having had their say, Freya and Ottar left. Bell looked at his body, and all the cuts and wounds have been healed. He could see the empty bottles of healing potions, so they must have treated him while he was unconscious.

Now that Bell had his update, he was happy. He was 1/3 of the way to level 2, and he still had the confidence of Goddess Freya and Lord Ottar. He is going to make them proud.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Supporter**

Remembering what Lord Ottar told him, Bell started looking for a supporter. Later that day, he did run into a small girl supporter named Lili who was being bullied. After he stood up for her, she agreed to be his supporter. With Lili's help, Bell's earnings increased substantially. When he went in to turn in his magic stones, Eina was quite impressed.

Eina "Bell, this is really a big load, even for you."

Bell "With Lili my new supporter, we are able to combat more monsters and stronger monsters"

Eina "Are you sure about this supporter, I think I have seen her around before. I am not sure she is reliable. Which familia is she from?"

Bell "She is from the Soma familia. I trust her and we are good friends now", but Eina was not convinced. Remembering something strange about the Soma familia, Eina started checking into the matter. To her dismay, she soon discovered that the Soma members worshiped their wine, which had essentially turned the members into crazed addicts. That made Eina very worried whether Lili can be trusted.

\- At the Hostess -

After the guild, Bell went to have dinner. During his meal, Syr sat down to keep him company while her elf friend Ryuu served their table. Syr asked Bell about reading, and Bell told her about heroic fairy tales and how he spent time with his grandfather. Syr was really impressed about Bell's love for reading and how close he was to his grandfather.

Syr smiled "Well, I think someone left one of those books here, would you like to borrow it?"

Syr pointed to a cabinet by the wall, so Bell went and found an old book.

Bell was happy "Sure, I will return it after I finish reading?"

Syr "That would be fine. I hope you enjoy it!"

\- Later that Night at His Room -

Bell was really looking forward to reading the book from Syr. As he lie down on his bed, he opened it up. Immediately, he noticed something was wrong as something started talking to him about magic. He quickly fell unconscious, and when he woke up, Freya and Ottar were there.

Bell "Goddess, what happened?"

Freya "We came to check on you, and you were sleeping face down on your book"

Bell "Yes, I guess I fell asleep.", also noticing the book no longer had any text...

Freya "Let me do your status update", happily discovering that Bell now had magic.

Freya "Bell, you now have a magic - an instant magic which is very rare. It is called firebolt. You definitely have a lot of talent and your growth is really very fast"

Ottar "You should try it next time in the dungeon. To activate the magic, just say 'firebolt'. But do not overuse it because it can drain all your energy.

The news of the magic made Bell very happy, though he worried about how to explain to Syr about the text disappearing from the book. After Freya and Ottar left, Bell immediately went back to the dungeon to test out his new magic. He was really excited to have magic. Without fully understanding the risks of magic, Bell did not heed Ottar's warning. He kept firing firebolts at a group of goblins. As a result, he had a mind-down on the 2nd floor.

Fortunately, Ais and Riveria were just returning from a deep mission. As they approached the 2nd floor, they saw several goblins surrounding a down adventurer. As Ais rushed to slice up the goblins, she quickly discovered that the white hair boy was the victim.

Ais "Oh..."

Riveria "Do you know him?"

Ais "We have never spoken, but this is the boy that Bete humiliated in the Hostess."

Riveria "So this is the one"

Ais "Riveria, I would like to apologize and make it up to him"

Riveria smiled "You know, there are other ways to say that. But sure, if you want to make it up to him, then follow my directions. I will be returning to the surface"

Thus the golden hair girl with the golden eyes proceeded to rest Bell's head on her lap while her hand pet his hair. Petting Bell's hair was so soothing that it cleansed Ais' soul, and she really enjoyed it. The lap pillow also made Bell rest better, and after a while he woke up.

Bell "... ..." while starting to notice someone was looking down at him.

Bell "Mom ..." realizing it was a feminine form.

Ais "I am not your mother"

Bell "Goddess..."

Ais "I am not your goddess", triggering Bell to realize the predicament he was in, sweating profusely.

All of the sudden, Bell rolled away and ran for his life, leaving Ais with an upset but cute pout. The same pout would be used on Riveria later that night while Ais got revenge for Riveria tricking her into doing something embarrassing.

\- The Next Day -

Bell had an appointment with Eina, who insisted on taking him to buy new armor. Bell desperately needed decent armor. After shopping at the Hephaestus shop, he found a light armor produced by a smith named Welf Crozzo. The armor provided protection but did not affect his agility. Really happy with his new purchase, Bell was surprised to see that Eina had a gift for him - an armor protector.

After the 'date', Bell went off to the dungeon with Lili. They were making more and more progress. Each night, Freya came by to give Bell an update as well as a goodnight peck on the cheek. After another 3 days, Bell was already half-way into level 1.

The next morning, Bell met again with Lili and their plan was to reach the 9th floor.

\- At the Babel -

A short time after Bell and Lili headed down the dungeon, Eina had some work at the Babel. While walking around near the dungeon entrance, Eina heard several adventurers joke about how someone set a trap for a white haired adventurer on the 9th floor. Immediately realizing they were talking about Bell, Eina was frantic, and started to look for someone to save Bell from the trap. Fortunately Eina ran into Ais Wallenstein.

Eina "Lady Wallenstein, there is a big favor that I must ask of you"

Ais "Miss Eina, how may I help"

Eina "I am afraid that one of the adventurers that I manage is being tricked. He is walking into a trap Could you please save him?"

Eina continued "He has white hair and red eyes, looks like a rabbit"

Ais realized who Eina was talking about. Excited, she asked what was the name of the adventurer.

Eina "His name is Bell Cranel. Actually you have saved him a couple times before, but he never had a chance to thank you"

Ais looking needy "Is he scared of me?"

Surprised Eina "No, actually he really appreciates you saving him. He wanted to thank you."

Ais "I will go save him!"

Eina continued "Please hurry, he is on the 9th floor"

Ais was really happy about what she learned. With a big happy smile, Ais flew down at warp speed towards the 9th floor. She got there just in time to see Bell battling a large number of orcs. To her surprise, he was fighting very well. And he was using instant chant attack magic. That really shocked her, as her ariel was the only instant magic that she was aware of. When Bell tripped, Ais came in to save him. She quickly sliced up the orcs without him even seeing her. As she diced up the orcs, Bell suddenly ran off in a big hurry. Realizing Bell probably had to help someone else, Ais once again lost her opportunity to 'apologize'. However, she did find an arm protector that Bell dropped while fighting the orcs.

Bell indeed went to save Lili, who was also betrayed by those who threatened her. Fortunately, Bell got there in time to save her from a large number of killer ants. Noticing how kind Bell was despite her betrayal, Lili cried and apologized. Now Bell realized that he had a true partner and supporter. When they returned to the surface, he squeezed Lili's ears as they walked, creating a large reaction. From afar, Freya watched jealously seeing that Bell can be a real player...


	11. Chapter 11

**Fated Meeting**

After saving Lili, Bell took her to eat dinner at the Hostess, making Syr green with envy. The elf Ryuu said something to tease Syr, but Bell did not notice the humor in Ryuu's comment.

The next day, Bell and Lili went back to the dungeon. The trust formed between them further improved their team work, and they eventually reached the 10th floor. At the end of the day, Eina was very pleased to see Bell when he went to exchange magic stones.

Eina did question Bell and Lili, but Bell insisted that they had a breakthrough in their relationship. Eina then admonished Lili about what happened, and Lili apologized about her behavior. Eina also mentioned how many people can take advantage of Bell because of his kind nature. At that point, Lili promised Eina that she would protect Bell with all her power.

That night, Freya and Ottar went to Bell's hotel room. After giving Bell an update, Freya told him that he was already 60% of the way to level 2. Since it had only been 12 days after receiving his falna, Freya realized that Liaris Freese was working overtime. While it pained her every time she thinks about Ais Wallenstein, the results were incredible and Bell may become the one that helps move the age.

The next morning, Ais went to the guild to talk to Eina after spending 2 days in the dungeon.

Eina "Lady Wallenstein, it is good to see you."

Ais "I did assist Bell that day on the 9th floor. He was handling himself quite well against a large group of orcs. I only assisted him when he tripped and fell, but he was doing quite well himself."

Eina "That is good to hear. Thank you very much for saving him."

Ais holding Bell's arm protector "Miss Eina, I found this item which Bell seemed to have dropped during his battle"

Eina "Thank you, I can return that to him"

Ais slightly blushed "Actually I would prefer to return that myself. But can you help me so that he does not run away?"

Eina blushed understanding what the blushing Ais was requesting "Sure, Lady Wallenstein, I would be happy to help. I will make sure that boy talks to you properly!"

Eina starting thinking out loud "Perhaps I can set a time to go through dungeon lessons and get him in a private room where there is only 1 exit..."

At that point, Bell also went into the guild looking for Eina. When he looked around, he saw Eina talking with an adventurer. As he approached them, he noticed the adventurer was the Kenki, which instantly made him want to flee. When Bell turned to run, Eina screamed for Bell to stop!

Eina "Bell, wait. Lady Wallenstein, catch him!"

Completely shocked, Bell ran as fast as he could, but there was a long stretch before the exit, and Ais was able to overtake him. As Bell was running as fast as he could, he was unable to avoid Ais when she jumped right in front of him. Bell was fortunate in that the collision was cushioned by Ais' ample bumpers, which though made him tomato red in embarrassment. Ais did have him in a bear hug by that point, so Bell was unable to attempt any other escape.

Eina reached them soon after "Bell, how can you be so rude. Lady Wallenstein has something to say to you. You will talk to her properly!"

Bell looking down "Yes, Eina-san", following Ais to a private area.

Ais handed the arm protector to him "I believe this is yours"

Bell accepted the items realizing that she was the one who saved him when he fell down in the orcs battle.

Ais then bowed in front of Bell "And I am sorry that I failed to stop that minotaur from getting into the upper floors. That was my fault that almost caused you your life. I am also sorry for those in my familia who may have offended you"

Bell then immediately apologized himself for running away and not thanking Ais. After realizing how silly their mutual apologies were, they both laughed uncomfortably. Though the ice was broken, and Ais further commented on how impressive Bell was getting to the 9th floor so quickly.

Bell "But I am still an amateur and have a long way to go to reach my goal."

Ais in a slight blush "Would you like me to train you?", which shocked Bell.

Despite being surprised, the opportunity to be trained by his crush was too much to ignore. Bell instantly accepted, and they agreed to meet the next morning on the city walls in a remote area.

Having agreed to their training 'date', Bell went on to meet Lili. They soon descended together into the dungeon to gather more magic stones. Lili did notice that Bell was a bit preoccupied and was in a good mood. She was far too clever to come out and ask directly about the cause of the mood...

\- The Next Day on the City Walls -

After a short chasing incident with an angry elf in Ais' familia, Bell reached the city walls where Ais was already waiting. They discussed the best way to train, but ultimately decided to spar. The result was Bell being beaten to a pulp all day. Once, Bell was knocked out and was lying unconscious on the ground. That reminded Ais of their lap pillow in the dungeon and how she was humiliated by Riveria. Thus, deciding on revenge, Ais decided to give Bell another lap pillow to show that she could do it correctly. Her soft lap helped Bell recovered faster along with her petting of his hair. Although when Bell woke up, he screamed and rolled away again, causing Ais some consternation.

Ais "Do you not like that?"

Bell "Yes ... no ... I mean like it but it is just very embarrassing."

Ais "So do you want me to give you another one?"

Bell "No ... yes, but it is just too embarrassing when I am awake."

Ais "So it is alright if you are knocked out"

Bell admitted "Yes...", but he quickly noticed something in Ais' eyes and smile.

They had one week to train. That was all the time Ais had as her familia had a deep mission planned. They would train in the mornings before heading their separate way for the afternoon. Ais was training someone in her familia afterwards, while Bell went with Lili to the dungeon. The training was tough on Bell, and he was constantly knocked out and received many lap pillows. But Bell was progressing quickly. They learned a lot about each other, about how they both had a goal that they would reach no matter what.

Two days before the last day of training, Bell had all day to train because Lili had other plans in the afternoon. Thus they agreed to spend all day together. For lunch, they went to get potato snacks at a stand served by a short goddess with twin ponytails. The food was very good, but it did make Ais sleepy due to all the training she has been doing.

Ais "We should do nap training next"

Bell "Nap? Are you sleepy?"

Ais looked serious but with a pout "This is training!"

Defeated by the pout, Bell join Ais in a nap while lying down on the ground. The intense situation made Freya want to scream from afar. She had been monitoring the training and was very pleased with the results, as confirmed by her nightly updates. However the chemistry between the two was killing her. With Ottar in the dungeon preparing some type of training for Bell, there was no one there to comfort her...

After a few minutes, Bell turned to see that Ais already fell asleep next to him. Impressed with the 1st class adventurer's instant nap ability, he started admiring her beauty from close-in.

In Bell's mind, his grandpa "Bell, what are you waiting for, she is begging you to give her a little kiss!"

In Bell's mind, Freya "Bell, that is not the type of behavior for my children!"

Grandpa "Bell, come on, just a little kiss, it is almost rude not to kiss her now!"

As the two deities battled, Bell continued to be mesmerized by Ais' beauty.

After grandpa kicked away Freya, Bell leaned in close to Ais as he was inches from her lips. He could feel her breathe and the feeling was intense.

At that point, Ais suddenly opened her eyes! That froze Bell as they looked eye to eye inches away from each other. That moment in time seemed to have lasted forever, but Ais eventually closed her eyes!

What will Bell do now?


	12. Chapter 12

**Timeless**

Time seemed to have stopped after a pink-cheeked Ais closed her eyes. Bell watched on as he admired his crush from inches away. As his body move by itself, he kissed her softly on the lips. The tomato-red Ais did not resist or protest, so he stole a few more kisses from his crush.

Freya was completely devastated. She knew this could eventually happen, but she did not expect it to happen so soon. With Ottar in the dungeon preparing a test for Bell, there was no one to comfort her. Part of her wanted to be in a pillar of light going back to heaven, but she could not help but continued watching the two.

After kissing, the super-red Bell and Ais eventually got up though both could no longer look each other in the eye. Their relationship had taken an irreversible turn. But they still had to train and so they did. There were still more lap pillows to be had! After their training, they decided to go to dinner at the Hostess.

When the two walked into the Hostess, the entire restaurant became quiet. One could literally hear a pin drop. Never in Orario has anyone seen Ais Wallenstein on dinner date alone with a boy, and any idiot could tell there was chemistry between the two. Syr was beyond green with envy while Ryuu smirked at the popular boy. With Syr a mess, Ryuu took care of the two for the dinner.

Still unable to look each other in the eye, Bell and Ais talked all dinner about getting stronger and strategies in the dungeon. Eventually, the restaurant returned to its noisy state, but poor Syr could not regain her composure. After delivering their main course, Ryuu did talked to the two for a short while and gave Bell some advice about how to level up. After dinner, they walked towards the Babel. They were able to hold hands in the dark, which added to the mood. When it was time to go home, Bell gave Ais a small kiss, and they said their good nights.

That evening, Freya and Ottar went to update Bell, and she was shocked by the latest jump in his stats. He had reached s for all his stats. The Kenki had apparently turbo-charged his feelings. Bell was ready to level, but needed to achieve something worthy in the eyes of the gods. Apparently kissing Ais was not enough. And it had been only 20 days since receiving her falna.

Melancholy Freya "Congratulations, little one. You have reached s in all your stats. You are more than ready to level once you have achieved some single accomplishment worthy of level 2."

Bell "Thank you for all your support, Goddess Freya."

Freya "You will know it when the opportunity presents itself"

Bell "Yes, I will try my best"

Ottar "If something tough happens, remember what got you there in the first place. Do not give in to fear."

Bell "Yes, Lord Ottar"

\- On the Last Day of Training -

This was the day before Ais goes off on a deep expedition. Bell had improved tremendously during their training. He was able to react much faster and got a lot stronger. However, there continued to be many lap pillows and also another nap training.

After more intense moments during their nap, it was time for their last sparring session. The sparring was more heated as Bell learned to defend using Ais' parry techniques. For the first time, he was able to counterattack, making a small scratch on Ais' breastplate.

Surprised Ais "This is your first time counterattacking. I must now return to my familia to get ready for the expedition"

The two then headed back into town. Bell walked Ais to the Twilight Manor, and found a private spot a block away.

Bell looking serious "Please be safe"

Ais was happy with his concern "You too, be safe" and gave Bell a kiss for the first time.

After which, there was a longer kiss before separating. What they did not notice was a certain elf that was spying on them in an extremely black mood.

Bell then went to meet Lili for their afternoon dungeon session. His improvement resulted in more and more success. They made more and more money, as a smiling Eina was completely amazed by their progress.

That night, Bell and Lili went to dinner at the Hostess, earning more whispers from the waitresses at the pub. Syr was in disbelief about the start of a harem that Bell was building. Ryuu then teased her about it being a harem of at least 3, making Syr upset.

\- The Next Day -

With training ended, Bell and Lili left early for the dungeon. When they reached the Babel, they saw a large number of Hephaestus members and Loki members waiting for the start of their mission. Bell was hoping to see Ais, but she had not yet arrived. Thus they headed down the dungeon and eventually reached the 10th floor.

Suddenly, adventurers started screaming about a minotaur. As Bell and Lili looked around, a powerful bull monster headed for them. With his PTSD trauma of bull monsters, Bell froze unable to react, forcing Lili to push him aside when the mino attacked. The fall injured Lili and so Bell had to protect her. As he battled the bull, he screamed for Lili to run so that they could eventually escape. After Bell yelled at her to run, Lili ran away to find help...

At that point, the Loki familia executives was heading down the dungeon in 2 groups. The lead group included Finn, Riveria, Ais, Bete, Tiona and Tione. When they reached the 7th floor, there were adventurers running up screaming minotaur. After some questioning, they told the Loki executives that the bull was attacking a white hair boy on the 10th floor when they ran away.

Hearing that, Ais saw red and with the word "tempest" in full ariel towards the 10th floor. When she reached the floor, she saw Lili who pleaded with her to save Bell-sama. At that time, a large Boaz suddenly stood in the way.

Ais "Lord Ottar, I need to get through"

Ottar "Kenki, I cannot do that. My familia is having a training session and we cannot allow you to interrupt the training"

Desperate Ais "I must get through", activating Ariel and even resorted to lil lafarga.

However, Ottar was able to resist her wind and actually knocked her back. At that point, Tiona, Tione and Bete caught up to them. As they converged on Ottar, 4 pallums joined Ottar in blocking their way.

Ottar "Before we start a familia war for the wrong reason, I know of your close relations with the boy", which shocked Ais and everyone else in the group.

Ottar continued "Do not be concerned, we value him as much as you do. We are training him and will not allow him to be killed or injured badly. I can bring you to the battle, but you must not join in", at that time, Finn and Riveria arrived.

Finn "That is fine. We will follow you."

When they arrived, they saw Bell squaring off with the mino, and there were already 4 people watching from a standoff distance away to avoid being noticed. When they saw who those 4 people were, they were shocked...


	13. Chapter 13

**Being a Hero**

When the Loki executives followed Ottar to the battle, they were shocked by the 4 who were already watching the fight. There were 2 deities in the dungeon! Freya and Hermes were in the dungeon flanked by Allen the cat person and Asfi. After getting over their initial shock, they turned back to watch Bell fight.

It was obvious that Bell was injured as his armor was gone, he was essentially shirtless and his arm was covered with blood. However, he was having an intense fight with the mino despite his injuries. The battle seemed to have gone on for a long time. Hermes and Freya were both in ecstasy watching the battle thinking about the hero of the age.

Even though the boy was much weaker than they were, the huge group of first class adventurers could not help but watch. It is exhilarating, incredible, amazing, and took their breathe away. For some reason, Bell seemed to be fighting more like an advanced level 2, but they knew he was only a level 1. His technique was good thanks to Ais, and his instant chant firebolt surprised the Loki executives and the Gulliver brothers. But it was more than the technique and the magic. It was his bravery and will to fight. Tiona compared Bell to the argonaut, and the amazon sisters started to fangirl about Bell. Bete, the one who humiliated Bell, was stuttering about how could it be possible. The Gulliver Brothers, fresh from their severe punishment, were also shocked to see how much the newbie improved in a few weeks. They thought he had quit, but they then realized that Bell must have been working continuously. Many were even suspecting Freya may have used her arcanum on her favorite. But in their heart, they knew the truth, as Bell's bravery made the hair stand up on the back of their necks.

Perhaps 30 minutes later, Bell managed to cut off the arm of the minotaur, making it desperate. As it tried to charge, Bell jumped to its backside and stabbed it with his dual black blades. Conducting firebolt through his knives, he caused severe damage to the mino. And after 3 firebolts through the blades, the monster exploded like a balloon, leaving a horn and a magic stone.

After the battle, Bell stood motionless apparently in a mind zero. Everyone was speechless and in awe of the level 1's battle. Though Lili quickly ran to Bell, and Ais also went to check on her unofficial boyfriend. Being able to read the hierographs on his exposed back, Ais quickly realized that Bell was ss and sss in all his stats, which was impossible.

At that point, Ottar used a potion on Bell while Freya gave him a quick update. After the update, Freya was very pleased, and had Ottar carry Bell princess-style.

With everyone shocked about Bell's performance and the presence of 2 deities in the dungeon, there was an awkward silence.

Finn finally broke the ice "Freya-sama, Hermes-sama, may I inquire why you are in the dungeon?"

Freya "I wanted to see my new talented member in battle, so I am blocking my aura"

Hermes "Someone asked me to check on the boy, so here I am. Some think he could be the new hero for the age"

Finn was surprised by Hermes' words "New hero, but he is a level 1?"

Freya announced with a smile "Well, Bell is now the new record holder. He just reached level 2 after this battle. It has only been about 3 weeks after receiving my falna", shocking everyone even more.

Finn "Well, that is good news. We do have a mission so we must now take our leave"

Freya "Would you mind if we join you on your mission?"

Finn "Freya-sama, as you are probably aware, we are heading for the 59th floor."

Freya "Yes we know, but my members are here to protect me."

Riveria "What about the boy, even with his level up, the 59th floor is far too dangerous for him and also for you and Lord Hermes."

Hermes "That is fine. I trust Freya's members can protect us. We will already be in trouble so may as well have the most fun we can"

Ottar "We want the boy to see what real battles are like, so we will bring him there"

Finn "Well certainly we could use the help, so we are grateful for your company"

The group then headed down the dungeon. They decided to have lunch in Rivira. By the time they reached Rivira, Bell woke up in Ottar's arms.

Ottar "Good morning Bell", giving Bell a potion for recovery.

Freya in a disguise "Little one, you fought like a hero. I am very proud of you"

Bell was surprised and slightly disappointed to see Ottar, as he had gotten used to waking up on the sword princess' lap. Said disappointment was not missed by Ottar.

Ottar "We are traveling with the Loki familia to the 59th floor. I trust you would be happy to accompany them"

After that, Freya gave Bell a copy of his stats, including a new skill called argonaut.

Happy Freya "Congratulations on being the fastest ever to Level 2. You are the new record holder!"

level 1

strength: 1350

endurance: 1381

agility: 1508

dexterity: 1327

magic: 1482

magic: firebolt

level 2

strength: 0

endurance: 0

agility: 0

dexterity: 0

magic: 0

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck

Freya then explained that argonaut offered the opportunity to change the tide of the battle with a hero's strike. When Bell asked how to use it, Ottar told him that it would become apparent when the skill is needed.

As they walked through Rivira, the idea of the 2 most powerful familias in a joint mission was unthinkable. But no one was about to say anything to the large gathering of 1st class adventurers. After a short lunch, the huge group set off again. They did leave Lili in a pricey hotel in Rivira because they did not want to subject her to unnecessary risk.

On the way down, with the Freya executives there, Ais kept her distance from her unofficial boyfriend. Though Tione and Tiona were questioning her and teased her about the situation. Riveria also joined in on the teasing, as everyone wanted to know how far Bell and Ais have 'gone'. The teasing was quickly silenced when the pout was used.

They did encounter a lot of monsters as they continued on their mission. But those monsters did not stand much of a chance. Bell did get more opportunities against other level 2 monsters including more minotaurs. However, the leveling immediately made the battles against minotaurs much easier.

When the group reached the Water City, there were adventurers screaming that the amphisbaena was rampaging. As the 1st class adventurers prepared for battle, Ottar noticed there were white sparkles forming around Bell's hand. Soon, the amphisbaena used its breathe weapon, forcing everyone to jump away, except Bell. Instinctively he launched an enormous white-hot firebolt at the monster that was much much larger than his normal firebolt. The 'enhanced' firebolt won against the breathe weapon. The magic blew away one of the heads of the monster while damaging the other. Taking advantage of the situation, Tiona and Tione jumped in and quickly turned the monster into a magic stone and a liver...


	14. Chapter 14

**Argonaut**

After the battle, everyone was wondering how a new level 2 could have possibly launched such a powerful magic that basically one-shot the level 5 floor boss. Particularly salty about it was an elf friend of Ais, who was steamed with the rookie's growing list of impossible accomplishments.

As they continued down the dungeon, Ottar and Freya gave Bell more guidance.

Ottar "What happened back there was your argonaut skill. Those white sparkles showed that you were gathering strength, and it unleashed the power in your magic attacks. If you had more time to 'charge' up, you would likely have delivered an even larger attack. "

Freya "Young one, I believe you can do the same with your physical attacks"

Ottar "When we return to the surface, you will need proper training to use the skill. Your argonaut skill seems to be a lot like a mage chanting."

Bell nodded when they gave him more advice, but even he was shocked at what happened with the success against the floor boss.

While they talked, Hermes was beside himself. He was even more convinced that the boy was the new hero of the age. The power of the argonaut attack was something that a first class mage may be unable to deliver.

As they continued to go deeper into the dungeon, the big group assumed a more cautious posture. With monsters becoming at least level 3, Bell was no longer allowed to physically engage monsters. Freya and Hermes were positioned in the middle of the group, surrounded by Ottar, Asfi and Allen. The Gulliver Brothers, fresh from their punishment, were put in charge of protecting Bell and the mages, Lefiya and Riveria. Ais, Tiona and Bete were in the vanguard, while Finn, Tione and Gareth were in the rear guard with the junior Loki members and the smiths from the Hephaestus familia. With the enormous group, they bulldozed even the largest collections of monsters.

Limited to firebolts, Bell saved his magic to help Ais from remote. When it look like there were too many monsters around her, Bell would launch his magic to assist. By the end of the day, the group reached their goal, the 36th floor.

As the lower level members set up camp and cooked dinner, Freya gave Bell an update inside their tent to determine the effects from defeating the amphisbaena and other monsters.

level 2

strength: 39

endurance: 33

agility: 45

dexterity: 32

magic: 188

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck

Bell was very happy with the big jump in magic stats, though he did not realize how significant the 'smaller' improvement in the other stats were. At that point, someone called from outside their tent. It was Finn, Riveria, Gareth and Ais who wanted to have a talk with Freya, Ottar and Bell.

Finn "Goddess Freya, I hope you are finding your accommodations comfortable"

Freya "Braver, thank you, but it is fine. I have lived in battlefield camps during Mars' silly invasions"

Riveria "I must admit that we never expected to share dinner with the executives from the Freya familia in this situation. It was even more surprising to see a level 1 defeat a minotaur by himself, and then nearly one-shot a level 5 floor boss like some type of magic cannon."

Ottar "We only planned to train Bell. So this was not expected for us either. We thank you for allowing us to join in your expedition. This is a great opportunity. And Bell will get a great education from this expedition"

Finn "About Bell, he is a level 2, but what he did against the amphisbaena was far beyond a level 2"

Freya "Your use of the term cannon is quite apt. Bell is a level 2, but his physical talents are obvious in the fight with the minotaur. However, we will share a secret with you, and this information is highly confidential. With his new level 2, he gained a skill called argonaut that allows him to deliver a hero's strike. The force of that hero's strike is unknown to us, though it is clearly many levels above his level."

Ottar "So Bell may actually be helpful against a powerful foe. But he has to be protected like we would protect mages. There is a strength gathering time period. The longer the time, the stronger the attack. We are not sure what is the limit to the attack or the 'charging' process"

Riveria "We will definitely keep his secret confidential. Do we know how long Bell was charging against the amphisbaena?"

Bell "I am not sure"

Ottar "It was about 2 minutes. There seemed to be white sparkles around him when he is charging. I suspect more charging would have improved the results."

Freya "Using the skill did take a lot out of him. So there is a limit to how often it is used."

Finn "It would be good for us to understand more"

Ottar "We will be practicing after dinner to try to learn more about it"

At that point, it was time for dinner. As Finn, Riveria and Gareth ate with Freya and Hermes, Bell was able to sit with Ais. While the food was decent, the company was much better.

Ais "That was an amazing attack you did against the floor boss. I am really proud of you"

Bell "Thank you Ais. I still do not understand what is going on"

Ais "Well, with Lord Ottar teaching you, you will be fine."

Bell sweet-talking "But I prefer my other teacher", making Ais blush deeply.

Ais tomato-red "I want to keep training with you also, but we cannot take naps here", hinting that can be no kisses with everyone around ...

Bell "Can we train after dinner?"

Ais "Sure, but I think they want to test your argonaut skill"

At that point, the troublemakers, Tiona and Tione, inserted themselves between the Bell and Ais.

Tiona "So, little argonaut, you were so amazing", making Bell confused and red.

Tione "Little argonaut, you are so cute like a bunny. No wonder Ais has taken a liking to you", making both Bell and Ais fidget.

Tiona grabbing Bell's arm "Argonaut-kun, you must teach us how to level so quickly"

Tione with her assets close to Bell's face "Argonaut, you really must teach us", again making Bell tomato red.

Watching the madness, Ais was getting jealous and mini-Ais was steamed.

Upset Ais "Hey, he is mine! If you want one, you have to find one yourself!"

Tiona smiled "Possessive, aren't we?"

Tomato red Ais "Yes, he has fluffy hair and is cuddly"

Tione teased "Cuddly?", while messing with the helpless Bell's hair.

Ais "Hey, hands off!"

Tiona laughed "Come on, Ais, you need to share with your sisters!"

Watching Bell and the girls from the far side was a steamed elf, Lefiya. She was in shock about the rookie getting all the attention from all 3 of her sisters. And she knew far too much. She was the Loki member chasing Bell when he ran away after she asked him if he saw Ais. She saw the lewd lap pillowing and the indecent petting. She saw the indirect kisses from the shared food. Then she saw the obscene napping and the real and unforgivable kisses. She watched them on their steamy dinner date from outside the Hostess windows. She saw the wanton hand holding in the dark. She wanted to give Bell a piece of her mind for stealing Ais away ...

Fortunately for Lefiya, even Freya was getting jealous beyond repair. Recognizing this, Ottar called Bell over for a short talk about training. While Bell went to talk to Ottar and Freya, Ais chased the 2 crazed amazons around the camp. It was going to be a beating they would not forget.

Lord Hermes, quietly observing, was smiling about the number of girls in Bell's harem...


	15. Chapter 15

**WHAT ABOUT ME**

After dinner was finished and the amazons punished, it was time for training. The executives wanted to see Bell's argonaut strike, and they gathered around as he tried to charge up.

The first time, no sparkles and nothing happened.

The second time, no sparkles and nothing happened.

The third time, still nothing.

Then a fourth time, a fifth time,... and a tenth time.

Nothing.

Tiona "Oh no, has little argonaut gone impotent?"

Tione "It seems argonaut cannot get it up, I mean his power"

Amused Freya "Bell, try to relax and think about what you want to protect most", while fearing the worse about what Bell would be thinking about.

Thus, Bell collected himself, took a few deep breathes and closed his eyes. He thought about everything that mattered most to him. His grandpa who he was unable to protect. His advisor Eina who took care of him. His friends at the Hostess. Lord Ottar who protected him. Lili who was like a little sister. His kind and beautiful goddess who kisses him on the cheeks. Then of course, it was his crush, idol and unofficial girlfriend Ais and their first kiss."

After gathering his feelings, Bell opened his eyes and the white sparkles started forming around his arms. The charging went on for 3 minutes then stopped by itself. He then released an enormous white-hot firebolt, which did an incredible amount of damage to the target area. Indeed, it was a bigger attack than what he used against the amphisbaena. It seemed to roughly have the power of Riveria's spells but focused into narrow beam like arcs ray.

Tiona fangirled "Wow, it's a gusher!"

Tione fangirled "Wow, Bell may be the most powerful man, ever!"

Freya thought smiling "Those 2 amazons are fun, too bad they are not in my familia"

Tsubaki the amazon smith thought with evil grin "Only 2 times a day, but wow, what 2 glorious explosions they are"

Lefiya looked even sadder and more frustrated in a foul black mood.

Gulliver brothers looked down in shame, as did Allen.

Bete's hair at the back of his neck stood up again.

Finn "Wow"

Riveria "Incredible power"

Gareth "Good one, lad"

Ottar "Bell, that was a big success but you need to rest now", giving him a recovery potion.

Ais went up to Bell really happy and hugged him "Bell, you did great!"

After launching the magic attack, Bell was very weak even after the potion. While it was not a mind-down, it was close.

Freya "This is the 2nd time he used this today, but that may be the limit, at least for now"

With Bell still feeling very tired, Freya rested his head on her lap. Bell had never received a lap pillow from his goddess before. When he looked up, he became tomato red with a close-up view of his ample goddess. Being a good boy, he just laid there, closed his eyes and relaxed. Then he quickly fell asleep.

Poor Ais had to watch the intimate lap pillow, but Freya was his goddess. Mini-Ais was crying and would have been apoplectic if she petted his hair. Missing nothing, Freya noted Ais' reaction. Though she planted her flag, she was not about to start trouble with Bell's unofficial girlfriend. After Ottar carried Bell off to a tent, they did more mission planning.

After Freya and Ottar were briefed in detail about the jewel fetus, they realized the level of the threat to Orario and everyone in it. So they made several decisions:

1\. Freya and Hermes would be left on the 50th safe floor with Asfi and the 4 Gulliver Brothers along with the junior Loki members and the junior Hephaestus smiths.

2\. The attack group would consist of Finn, Ottar, Allen, Gareth, Riveria, Ais, Bell, Tiona, Tione, Bete, Tsubaki the 5th level smith, Lefiya and Raul.

3\. Argonaut is a potential game changer. They needed to save it for when it really mattered. Bell would only use argonaut on parasitized monsters but not 'lesser' monsters like valgang dragons or even standard floor bosses. Bell and the mages would be guarded by Allen and Ottar.

\- The Next Morning -

After a good night of sleep, Bell was refreshed. Before breakfast, Freya gave him a final status update:

level 2

strength: 39

endurance: 66

agility: 45

dexterity: 32

magic: 213

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck

And Bell was really really hungry. Spotting the argonaut, the 2 amazons immediately grabbed on to Bell, drawing Ais' ire again. As the 4 continued their comedy act, Lefiya just could not take it any more. Her suffering was simply too intense...

Lefiya, in tears, yelled on the top of her lungs "WHAT ABOUT ME!"

That scream resonated and quieted the 2 amazons, a near impossibility. As all eyes were on Lefiya, she realized she had everyone's undivided attention.

Tiona "Lefiya, you want in on the argonaut also?"

Lefiya was shocked by the suggestion but did not know how to respond. If she said no, then everyone would wonder why she screamed. Would others realized her hidden unspeakable feelings for Ais? If she said yes, what would everyone think? Would Bell hit on her like the playboy and make her join the harem?

As Lefiya hedged, Ais pouted "Lefiya, Bell is mine. You sisters need to get your own"

With Ais' declaration, she lost it. Lefiya realized the only way to keep Bell away from Ais was to claim him for herself. Thus with the desperation, she did the unthinkable...

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Lefiya stormed up to them, grabbed Bell by the neck and gave him a deep deep kiss, shocking everyone.


	16. Chapter 16

**The Kiss**

The kiss was not as repulsive as Lefiya expected...

In fact, the kiss was kind of nice as Bell's lips were soft and he smelled good. Furthermore, the feeling from her first kiss was kind of otherworldly, causing her eyes to roll around and around in circles. With her head spinning, she suddenly realized that she was starting to actually enjoy it. That was simply unacceptable. Lefiya really wanted to give Bell a piece of her mind about stealing Ais, but instead she gave Bell her first kiss, and it was a big wet one right on the lips. What was worse, she was starting to really sink into the kiss.

With the last vestige of her elf pride, Lefiya pulled herself back from the deep kiss.

Tomato-red Bell, the 'victim', was too shocked to move.

Ais was speechless, as were the amazon twins.

Bete, rolling his eyes, had nothing to say. Finn and Riveria had pained looks. Gareth closed his eyes. Raul cringed and looked away. Tsubaki licked her lips, a few times. Ottar remained stoic while Freya looked amused though deeply pained inside. Asfi blushed and looked down. Even Hermes was at a lost for words except two short chuckles with the unanticipated entertainment.

In a strange way, the kiss did have a calming effect on Lefiya. It was as if Bell's pureness cleansed away her black mood. With the black mood diminished, Lefiya looked meekly around and noticed everyone's jaws dropped to the ground. No one knew what to say...

Thankfully, Gareth finally broke the silence "Well, that was a good stress relief, hahaha"

Finn "Alright, ladies, harem king, everyone, we got a job to do. Let's head out!"

In spite of the elf eruption, the merry group headed down the dungeon.

With Bell next to Lefiya and Riveria in the same formation, it was awkward indeed. Ais and Tiona were up in the vanguard, but they did not know what to say to each other. It was awkward all the way around.

Despite the strange morale, the group quickly reached the 50th floor, as colosseums simply became a great way for the affected to take out their frustrations. The lower level members would set up a base camp while the members of the attack group would tried to relax before the major operation.

According to their plan, Freya, Hermes, Asfi, the Gulliver brothers and the junior Loki and Hephaestus members would stay in the base camp while the attack group would descend to the 59th floor the next day.

After an awkward lunch, a teary Lefiya apologized to her sisters.

Lefiya in tears "I am so sorry. I just got frustrated and lost control"

Ais "That is fine Lefiya. I did not realize you even know Bell"

Lefiya "I do not. I was just frustrated that you would only pay attention to him"

Ais "Lefiya, I will always protect you. So would Tiona and Tione. While I have feelings for Bell, that does not change how I feel about my sisters"

Tiona "You are a silly one but you got to kiss argonaut!", as Ais bashed her on the head with her scabbard.

With that said and done, there was a group hug between the 4 sisters.

Bell heard what was said, but he did not know what to think about the crazy elf. So he wisely kept his distance for the rest of the evening.

Finn and Ottar did advise Bell on what to expect on the trip to the 59th floor. In particular, which monsters and the types of attacks. They also explained the strategy to hold Bell back from the battles in order to keep the cannon primed. Bell was not to get involved unless it is a matter of life or death. Ideally, he would save whatever energy he had for parasitized monsters. The first class adventurers should be able to take care of everything else.

\- The Next Morning -

The attack group was ready, and Riveria activated veil breathe. After the protective spell was applied, they headed down to the 51st floor. Ais, Tiona, Tione and Bete were upfront. Bell, Lefiya and Riveria were in the middle with Ottar and Allen guarding them. Bringing up the rear were Finn, Gareth, Raul and Tsubaki.

The 51st floor had lots of powerful monsters including black rhinos and virgas. But the group was ready. They quickly raced to the 52nd floor, cutting through the monsters like butter. However, the valgang dragons detected their new prey and started firing fireballs all the way from the 58th floor. Dodging the fireballs with Finn's special ability, they moved forward as fast as they could.

As they hurried forward, a giant spider tried to capture an unsuspecting Lefiya. Fortunately, Bell saw the spider webbing heading for Lefiya and pushed her out of harm. However Bell instead got himself caught by the webbing. As he was drawn towards the monster, Bell killed it with 10 firebolts in quick succession. However, Bell fell towards a vertical hole that was just formed by a dragon's fireball. Seeing this, Ottar and Allen jumped in after Bell. Ais quickly activated ariel and followed, as did Tiona and Tione.

Riveria "So much for our plan..."

Finn "Bete, stay with us. They have enough manpower down there, but let's get down there as fast as we can", signaling everyone to move again.

Being saved by a rookie, Lefiya was sick to her stomach again. She was scared, but that was just too much to take. Deciding she could be more useful below as a mage, Lefiya took a deep breathe and also jumped in after Bell...


	17. Chapter 17

**Descend**

As Bell fell through the vertical hole, he could see the hole extended past many floors. Recalling what Finn and Ottar taught him, the hole would likely originate at the 58th floor. He then heard Ottar yelling to him.

Ottar "Slow yourself down by extending your arms and legs. We need to catch up to you"

As Bell follow Ottar's instructions, his increased drag did the trick. As he slowed down, the others closed the distance between them. Of course, Ais in full ariel was the first to reach him. Caught by Ais, Bell was again in a princess carry.

With ariel unable to lift all of them back up in a safe fashion, they decided instead to use it to slow their descend. The group soon managed to synchronize themselves so they would land at the same time, but suddenly they saw Lefiya plummeting towards them screaming and totally out of control. Fortunately, Tiona was able to catch her as she dropped like a rock in yet another princess carry

The slow descend also gave Lefiya time to chant Fusillade Fallarica. They timed it so that her spell could be activated right before landing. Just in case, Ottar again reminded Bell to save argonaut for a more desperate situation, and this was not it...

As they entered the huge black graphite cavern that was the 58th floor, Lefiya quickly finished chanting as she saw hordes of dragons and virga. When the spell took effect, the monsters in the enormous room were decimated. Tiona and Tione cheered, but that was premature. Virgas continued to stream in from the 57 floor entrance while valgang dragons kept respawning.

Ottar had Allen stay as the bodyguard for Bell and Lefiya while he started attacking the respawning dragons. Tiona and Tione then focused on the virga entering from above, while Ais took off in ariel to cut down whichever monsters that got by their defense. Working together, they were just able to keep control of the monsters without expending any more magic. After a while, it was getting tiring, but fortunately, Finn's group soon reached the floor.

With everyone back together, they were able to kill the monsters that showed up while they decided how what to do on the 59th floor. First, Finn was surprised by the temperature, as he expected the 58th floor to be quite cold due to the records from the Zeus familias about glacial conditions on the 59th floor. Apparently, the conditions had changed so they lighten some of their load including warm clothing such as salamander wool. Second, Finn had Tsubaki do maintenance on their weapons, which had cut down numerous monsters. Third, Riveria reapplied veil breathe to provide limited protection. Finally, they had some quick lunch and recovery potions. Once preparations were complete, they then headed to the 59th floor entrance.

Indeed, the floor was not glacial at all, but warm and humid with dense vegetation. They started walking around to look for any signs of the enemy or why Revis would say Ais can get answers on this floor. After some distance, they saw a vast plain with lots of virgas heading towards a central area with two huge plants. Realizing this was probably their goal, they started towards the area where all the monsters were converging at.

When they got closer, they saw that both plants were eating the virgas for their magic stones. With a seemingly endless supply of virga, those plant monsters must have become incredibly power. Suddenly, both plants started transforming, and gave off horrible shrieking sounds. After a short time, the top segment of both plant monsters transformed into top halves of beautiful girls.

Both monsters recognized Ais and called out to her "Aria, Aria, Aria, come join us. Let us devour you!"

Ais realized that the monsters were spirits, as did the rest of Loki executives. Seeing Ais' shock reaction, Bell realized that there could be a link between Ais and those spirits.

As the 2 spirits continued to consume the magic stones of the virgas, Finn also figured out that the purpose of the virgas were to serve as a food supply for the 'demi spirits". Thus, some master plan may be in action where the recent events in the dungeon may only be scratching the surface of what is really behind this.

Ottar, Bete, Tiona, Tione and Ais then started racing towards the enemy. However Finn's thumb told him to stop. And the thumb was correct as both demi spirits appeared to be chanting magic spells!


	18. Chapter 18

**WAR**

Finn's thumb was correct again. Realizing that the 2 demi spirits were chanting magic, Finn made critical defensive adjustments.

Finn "Wait everyone, it is using magic. Riveria, use your defensive spell! Everyone, come under the protection of Riveria's shield spell"

Thus, it became a chanting race as Riveria started chanting Via Shilheim

Finn "Use everything we have. Stop them from chanting. Bell, that includes you!"

Following instructions, Bell started charging while Raul and Tsubaki launched magic sword attacks, but the demi spirits' protective layers prevented any damage or even interruption of their chanting. Lefiya soon launched Fusillade Fallarica, which also proved useless against the spirits' protective layers.

Seeing that one of the demi spirits was almost done with chanting, Bell focused his attack on that demi spirit even though he only charged for 2 minutes. The damage was still very significant, as it burned off the protective leafs and severely burning it. Even though Bell did stop its chanting, the demi spirit already started to regenerate.

By that point, Riveria's Via Shilheim spell was activated, protecting everyone under her magic shield.

That was just in time, as the other demi spirit was done chanting, launching a firestorm at them. The spell was enormously powerful. Under pressure from the firestorm, Riveria's shield started to crack.

Acting quickly, Lefiya activated dio grail as an additional defense. That was just in time, as the firestorm broke Riveria's shield. Gareth and Ottar then jumped in front of everyone carrying large shields as additional backup. And the additional backup was needed after dio grail also failed under the enormous pressure of the firestorm. With Gareth and Ottar's combined effort, everyone got through the attack with only minor burns.

However, immediately after launching its attack, the same demi spirit started chanting again. Unfortunately, Riveria was unable to gather energy quickly enough for another shield! Thus everyone prepared as well as they could for another powerful spell.

Soon enough, the demi spirit launched Meteor Swarm at them. Lefiya was able to provide limited protection with another dio grail, but that was not nearly enough. Even with Gareth and Ottar trying to shield everyone again with the large shields, that only lessened the blow. The meteor storm explosions impacted, scattering their bodies all over.

After launching two enormous spells, that demi spirit's 2 flowers opened up and started absorbing power from the remaining virgas on the floor. At the same time, the regenerating demi spirit was also completely regenerated and started to chant.

Seeing the desperation, with everyone injured and many possibly unconscious or worse, Bell realized that he had to fight to protect Ais and everyone. While unable to get up from the damage, he gathered all his emotions to start charging argonaut again. Only this time, the sound of a grand bell ringing echoed through the entire floor, signifying that the limit was off for this argonaut use. He put everything he had left into his argonaut charge.

Thus it became a race between Bell charging and the regenerated demi spirit chanting. It was going to be close. Bell knew he had to fire before the demi spirit could launch its magic. But every second of charging meant a more potent cannon.

With the grand bell sounding, it also provided encouragement for everyone to get up. Ottar and Finn were the first to rise, and they appealed to everyone else to rise and fight as well.

Finn challenged "Bell, a level 2, is loading his cannon and leading us with his shear will power, will you just lie there and let him fight alone? Or are the heroics of Bell Cranel too much for you to bear?"

The challenge issued by Finn was the encouragement needed to get everyone else to rise. First it was Bete who could not stomach being bested by Bell, then Ais who was going to protect Bell and her friends, then the amazon twins and Allen, followed by Gareth, Riveria, and finally Raul and Tsubaki.

Ready to fight, Riveria ignored defense and started chanting her most powerful attack spell.

Finn and Ottar then led a charge with Ais, Gareth, Bete, Allen, Tiona and Tione following their lead. That left Tsubaki and Raul to stand guard to protect Bell, Lefiya and Riveria while they used their magic.

Seeing virgas arriving from 60th floor, Leifya also started chanting her Fusillade Fallarica.

Fortunately, Bell was able to finish his limit-off charging before the demi spirit finished chanting. The enormous firebolt burned off most of the regenerated demi spirit. But that was it for Bell, as he collapsed from a mind zero.

Riveria soon finished with chanting Rea Laevateinn. Her fire storm heavily damaged the demi spirit that had just finished absorbing power and finished off the demi spirit that was heavily damaged by Bell

Lefiya also finished her fusillade falarica chant, which killed off the new virgas on the floor, denying the remaining demi spirit of additional energy supply.

As the situation seemed improved, suddenly a green wall appeared from magic below the 59th floor, shielding the remaining demi spirit, which was regenerating from Riveria's attack.

Finn, Tiona, Tione, Bete and Allen were unable to penetrate the green wall with their weapons. Ottar and Gareth then joined in and punched an opening for the group, though getting hit by attacking plant appendages in the process. That knocked Gareth down but Ottar continued through the opening, followed by Finn, Bete, Allen, Tiona, Tione and Ais.

When the demi spirit used thunder ray, Tione and Tiona used their bodies to shield Ais and the others from the attack.

With Tiona and Tione knocked out, Finn "Everyone, open the way for Ais and Ottar to attack."

Under Finn's leadership, Bete and Allen occupied the demi spirit's main defensive appendages. As they were knocked down one after another, Ottar and Ais charged through. Ottar attacked the body while Ais focused on the spirit half-body using Ariel.

Ais slashed at the demi spirit with desperate but its appendages protect it and knocked Ais back against the wall.

Determined, Ais charged forward again, but the demi spirit launched icicle edge at Ais. Fortunately Lefiya used her remaining magic to intercept the icicle with arcs ray, freeing Ais to attack the monster.

With Lefiya clearing her way, Ais used her finishing move lil rafaga. The demi spirit countered with light burst, but lil farga broke through and cut down the demi spirit, turning it into dust.

With the demi spirits defeated, the group cheered and used healing potions and recovery potions. Seeing the burnt out battlefield, they decided to go back up to the 50th floor. It was critical that the information about the demi spirits reached Orario. Tsubaki was glad to be the one princess carrying Bell back up, and that allowed the fighters to focus on fighting their way through.

Far from the action, the invisible Hermes and Asfi were monitoring the action and soaking in the entertainment. Hermes was incredulous with accolades for the group. His monologue include the Braver's leadership, the King's shear strength, Sword Princess' wind, record holder's cannon, amazon sisters sacrificing their bodies, Lefiya's arcs ray and Nine Hells' fire...


	19. Chapter 19

**The Return Trip**

Freya was relieved to see the group returning at the end of the day. Looking for Bell, she found Tsubaki princess carrying Bell, with a naughty sparkle in her eyes. Ais, also noticing the same, gladly took over for Tsubaki and proceeded to use her lap as a pillow for her unconscious Bell. As she petted his hair, his purity really cleansed her battlefield stress while Freya cried a little inside.

Finn "Goddess Freya, we were successful thanks much to Ottar and Bell."

Freya "That is good to hear"

Ottar "Thanks to the Loki familia, the battle was the most glorious I have ever experienced."

Freya "What happened to Bell?"

Riveria "He is mind down. He gave us everything we had"

Gareth "The lad was the star and his bravery inspired us all"

Tiona and Tione "We would not have survived without little argonaut and his big cannon!", earning a smirk from Freya.

Finn "As we were near defeat, Bell led the counterattack with his cannon."

Riveria "The cannon was fired twice. The second time was different than what we have witnessed. It was more powerful, and the battlefield rang with a loud grand bell as he gathered strength, inspiring our fallen bodies to get up and fight"

Finn "Yes, his second use of the argonaut power was far more powerful than we have seen. While it did not completely destroyed a monster that was clearly above level 7, it changed the tide of our battle, twice"

Freya "That is impressive. I wished I would have witnessed that. Of course, Hermes, you enjoyed that entertainment to yourself"

Hermes took off his Hades Hat "Yes, it was the most grand battle that I, Hermes, has ever witnessed."

Asfi in an embarrassed pout "He forced me to take him", earning a head pat from Hermes.

Deciding to stop Ais from planting her flag, Freya "Kenki, I am going to update Bell's status in the tent. Could you please carry him there for me?"

Defeated, Ais did as instructed and followed Freya to her tent. Following protocol, Ais voluntarily left the tent to give the goddess her privacy with her child. Even as his unofficial girlfriend, she did not have the right to see his status stats without permission.

Freya was very pleased with the update, as strange as the stats were:

level 2

strength: 43

endurance: 157

agility: 50

dexterity: 51

magic: 548

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck

Indeed, Bell could have leveled with his incredible magic stats and his deeds which inspired the gods. Of course, Freya would advise that he wait on leveling. Especially with liaris freese, he should wait until his stats reach their level 1 levels. She was going to make sure her new star reach his fullest potential. She quickly gave Bell a tender kiss on both cheeks before rejoining the others.

Freya announced to the group "That must have been quite some battle. Bell already qualifies for level 3"

Finn "Bell deserves level 3 after that battle.", and everyone agreed with that assessment.

Even Lefiya agreed with Bell's accomplishments, even though it would already and painfully match her lifetime accomplishment.

Freya "Well he can level, but we will wait for his other stats to catch up to his magic first"

Riveria "That is a wise decision, as he is far more than a mage like myself", as Lefiya found herself also agreeing that statement.

Finn "Alright, let rest here tonight and start our return trip tomorrow", as everyone cheered in agreement.

\- The Next Morning -

Bell woke up really refreshed but he is famished from all the fighting. But suddenly remembering the battle, he immediately jumped up but found himself in the tent on the 50th floor. He got up and ran outside the tent.

Gareth "You decided to finally wake up, lad. Come join us for breakfast"

Tiona teased "Little argonaut, come sit with us, Ais has been waiting for the one she loves deeply", making Ais blush tomato red.

Bell looked at Ottar and Freya, but they gave him the ok. Thus he sat with the girls who immediately started to molest him. The comedy act had reignited again, with the two amazons and Ais all over Bell the little argonaut. Lefiya had not quite joined the act, as she was on the side trying to drag her sisters off of the argonaut.

Finn interrupted the mess of humanity in the monkey pile "Don't you girls think you should tell Bell what happened on the battlefield? I am sure Bell wants to know..."

Remembering that Bell went mind zero, Ais and Tiona retold the events of the battle, impressing Bell about how heroic everyone was, just like in the story books.

Ottar "Bell, you did well"

Finn "Bell, we would likely have lost without you. Thank you for joining our party"

Bell "Thank you, I hope to have the opportunity join you on future expeditions"

Freya "Little one, when you are done playing with the silly girls, please come to me to discuss your level 3 plans"

Bell "Level 3?"

Freya "Yes", and that did the trick as Bell's curiosity took him away from the arms of the 3 competing girls. After Freya's explanation, Bell agreed to follow his goddess' suggestion to wait for his status to climb.

After breakfast, it was time to return. However, on the way back, the rear of their formation was attacked by a large number of Poison Vermis. Unfortunately most of the lower level members were affected. Tione suggested heading to the safe areas on the lower floors, and thus Finn gave the order to head for the 18th floor. Those who were unaffected had to carry the sick members on their march.

Fortunately, the major fighters were healthy, and they were able to clear the way back up. While the colosseums were more difficult with the sick members, they were able to make it through with more intense use of magic spells from Lefiya and Riveria.

When they reached the 18th floor, they set up camp to take care of the sick. Finn immediately sent Bete and Allen back to the surface to bring back medicine. Thus, while waiting for the medicine to arrive, the healthy members had sometime for relaxation when they were not tending to the sick. Towards that end, the girls were planning to take a bath...


	20. Chapter 20

**Rest & Relaxation**

The girls went for their bath, but of course posted guards to make sure there was no peeping. With Riveria's high elf status, it was inconvenient for her to bathe so she served as one of the guards, though Lili gladly joined in when she learned of their return.

Hermes thought it was rather interesting and went to talk to Bell "Bell, I need to have a man-to-man talk with you."

That made Bell sort of confused, but he followed Hermes who led the way. The path they took was kind of strange particularly as Hermes started climbing a tree. Despite Bell's question about the need for such strange measures, Hermes insisted that it was important for them to go to a private location. As they got near the end of the branch, Hermes smiled and pointed down. Following Hermes's finger, Bell looked down and there were many beauties bathing and splashing water at each other.

Completely flustered, Bell tried to drag Hermes out of their prime peeking spot. He knew they had committed an unspeakable taboo, but Hermes refused to budge. As they struggled, Bell fell from the tree branch right into the water. With the loud splash, all the girls turned their attention to the brazen offender. With little argonaut being a brave peeper, it immediately became a surreal situation.

Turns out Bell landed near Freya, who was not embarrassed but actually rather glad with her eager child "Little one, did you come for some maternal attention? Come here, little hero"

As tomato-red Bell thought about escaping, Freya put him in a bear hug with his face in her ample bosom. While shocked by the goddess' loving stance, Bell did managed to escape from the tender embrace.

As Bell tried to run for his life, he found himself surrounded by 3 amazons, Tiona, Tione and Tsubaki. They had naughty looks with hands eager to catch the little argonaut. Making a break for it, he tried to split the gap between Tsubaki and Tiona. Unfortunately the 5th level Tsubaki was too quick for him. As her arms entwined around the rookie, she happily gave Bell some maternal loving of her own. Captured in Tsubaki's enormous bosom, Bell screamed but his voice was muffled by large melons.

Tsubaki laughed "Little argonaut, you came to peep, so we are going to give you your money's worth!"

At that point, Tiona and Tione had joined in on the argonaut-hunt, so all 3 amazons were in a monkey pile with the helpless rookie. The bystanders, Ais, Lili, Asfi and Lefiya, were speechless and embarrassed. Ais was thinking how Bell could have become so forward. Lili could not believe that Bell would be able to bring himself to peep. Asfi got suspicious about the whole affair. After covering herself a little, Lefiya was furious with Bell, but the situation was so ridiculous with the amazons that she did not know whether to chant arcs ray or to watch the amazon entertainment. Especially, it appeared Bell was captured and unable to free himself from the pile of womanhood.

Seeing how much fun the amazons were having, Freya jumped in. The mess of humanity continued to grab, hug and twist around in shallow water until Bell managed to free himself. As he used his rabbit skills, he raced out of the pile, but ran right into the shocked Lefiya. As they fell over, their lips accidentally met making the other girls jealous.

Bell "Sorry everyone, I am so sorry!", as he again headed towards a potential escape.

Unfortunately, the 3 amazons and the amused goddess were having too much fun to let him go. As they chased him, Bell tried to use his agility to maneuver around his pursuers. While he twisted and turned, he eventually herded himself towards Ais, and his eyes were filled with her nude beauty. Completely embarrassed, she looked down but did not cover herself up from Bell's eyes.

Bell "Ais, please help me escape!"

Abiding by her unofficial boyfriend's request, Ais tried to block the way of the other ladies. Unfortunately, she was betrayed by the 2 amazons twins who overpowered Ais working together.

As Ais screamed at her two sisters who jumped on her, Bell turned to check if his unofficial girlfriend was alright. Unfortunately, that gave Tsubaki and Freya the time to catch the rookie.

As Bell screamed for help, Ais tried again to help. Unfortunately, Tiona and Tione pushed Ais and Lefiya into the monkey pile and then quickly joining in themselves. At the end, it was a huge mess with 1 rookie, 1 goddess, 3 amazons, 1 elf and 1 princess wrestling in the monkey pile. For some reason, the girls started a competition for Bell's armor pieces, as the armor pieces would logically be valuable and sentimental souvenirs given the recorder holder's critical role in the historic battle.

As for the struggle for victory in the monkey pile, it was Ais on top of Bell some of the time, while Tiona soon replaced her position. And then Tione got the jump on Bell, but then the goddess would enjoy her time on the top. Throughout the scandalous affair, Bell's scream for help was not answered.

All that time, Lili and Asfi continued to watch the spectacle but decided to stay away from the unspeakable mess.

Hermes, still on the tree, enjoyed the unique entertainment, but was finally spot by Asfi, who chased and caught the offending god.

Realizing the involvement of the naughty god, Riveria finally decided to stop the debauchery. As she chanted Wynn Fimbulvetr, everyone in the monkey pile was threatened with the spell which would put them in the deep freeze. That threat worked, as the rookie hero was extracted from the monkey pile. It was then time for the interrogation of Bell and Hermes.


	21. Chapter 21

**Evidence**

Bell and Hermes had to answer for the peeping incident. The lead ladies asking the questions were Riveria a high elf, Freya the only goddess available in the dungeon, Asfi the well-respect captain of the Hermes familia and Lefiya who was the youngest victim.

Asfi's suspicion that Hermes was the mastermind was the 1st matter to be investigated. Thus, Hermes went first while Bell awaited his fate. The interrogation was severe as Asfi first tied up Hermes, punched him till his face was all swollen and then hung him upside down.

Asfi started the questioning "Hermes-sama, I am sure you appreciate the seriousness of this matter. Many who were bathing were under 18. Two were under 16."

Hermes "Well, they are not too young to get married", then another punch and another oww.

Asfi "Bad answer. Next question. Was it your idea or Bell's idea to peep?"

Hermes "It was neither of our idea to peep. I wanted to have a private discussion with Bell about the future, so I wanted a secure location. As you can imagine, the end of a tree branch would afford us the privacy I desired. Of course, I had no idea that the ladies were bathing under the tree. There were no signs there indicating "Bathing underway - Do not Peep". So I had no idea", then another punch and another oww.

Asfi "Another bad answer. Everyone knew the ladies were going to bathe. You found the only vantage point that was not secured to circumvent the defensive perimeter set around the bathing area", the severity of the swelling on Hermes' face was starting to make others worry...

Riveria "Did Bell have any idea that girls were bathing around the area?"

Hermes "We never discussed it. He was following me"

Riveria "Bell followed you climbing up a tree without questioning why?"

Hermes "Yes Bell did question that. He was confused, but I told him the same thing I told you. I wanted us to talk privately, and the end of a tree branch seemed like the most secure location."

Lefiya "Why did Bell jump into the water. Not only did he peep, but he brazenly jump into the middle of the bathing area"

Hermes "Well we realized we were in the bathing area, Bell got concerned and tried to leave. But he lost his balance and fell in"

Freya "How does a super-talented level 2 lose his balance?"

Hermes "Well, Bell got worried when he saw the ladies. He immediately tried to leave, but I was sitting between Bell and the way back. He lost his balance in his rush to leave"

Asfi "You mean you did not want to leave but Bell did"

Hermes "No man would want to leave such a wonderful view, but Bell was just nervous like the rabbit we all know"

Asfi "So you are saying Bell had no intent of peeping and immediately tried to leave when he saw the ladies bathing"

Hermes "Yes that is totally true", making a few of the ladies unhappy...

Freya "Whereas you are claiming you were not aware of the ladies bathing, but, let's just say, you were not in as big a hurry to leave given the view"

Hermes "That is what I am saying", another punch and another owwwww

After a short private chat, the ladies had Hermes removed and then Bell was brought in for questioning.

Asfi "Bell, whose idea was it to peep?"

Bell "No one actually said to peep. Hermes-sama told me he wanted to talk to me in private"

Asfi "But did it not seem weird for you to have to climb a tree to talk privately?"

Bell "Yes, it did. I asked Hermes-sama about it, but he indicated that it was more private up the tree. So I followed"

Asfi "Did you know ladies were bathing in the area?"

Bell "Yes I did."

Asfi "You never considered that the tree branch was a good location to peep?"

Bell "No, I did not think about that"

Lefiya "So when you got to the top of the tree, what happened?"

Bell "Hermes-sama pointed down below. When I looked, I saw the ladies bathing. I freaked out. I then fell into the water after trying to get around Hermes-sama"

Lefiya "Did Hermes ever said he wanted to peep?"

Bell "No"

Lefiya "Did Hermes say he wanted to stay there when it was clear that girls were bathing below?"

Bell "No"

Riveria "Then why did you have to get around Hermes?"

Bell "I wanted to leave immediately, but he was slow to move"

Riveria "Then why did you run around the ladies when you landed"

Bell "I wanted to leave immediately, but many got the wrong idea that I wanted to be there."

Riveria "Can you promise to keep the peeping incident confidential?"

Bell "Yes"

With that, the 4 girls went to deliberate on what evidence they gathered...


	22. Chapter 22

**The Decision**

The tribunal of 4 weighed the evidence and made their ruling. As the proceeding was treated as a civil matter, the burden of proof was less severe.

First it was Hermes, and a lot was discussed about the god's past record including prior peeping attempts. First Hermes was ruled "not guilty" on intent to peep due to lack of evidence. Second, he was ruled guilty on all the other counts - peeping, peeping on 2 youths under 16, causing a minor to peep, disrupting the peace, and causing mental anguish to innocent parties. The penalties for Hermes were:

1\. A large fee, 5 million valors, to be paid solely by Hermes himself. That meant the naughty god had to work himself to pay for the penalty instead of using funds from his familia's coffers. His punishment schedule would be under the supervision of another god - Freya.

2\. Public caning for 2 spanks each by each victims

3\. Sealing his mouth with magic adhesive for 1 week. His mouth would only be freed for eating and drinking. This would be supervised by Asfi and a member of the guild to be assigned later.

For the first time, Hermes actually looked troubled. That was particularly with the 3rd penalty. He suspected he could eventually cut a deal with Freya for the first, while Asfi has desensitized him to physical punishment for the second.

Then it was Bell's turn. Bell was ruled to be innocent of all of the initial counts - intent to peep, peeping, peeping on 2 youths under 16, and causing mental anguish to innocent parties. However, he was ruled to be guilty of incidental peeping, though there was no significant penalty. The only requirement was that Bell had to promise to keep all information about the peeping incident confidential. He agreed not to describe what he saw in any way, whether in words, in drawings, or even using hand motions.

After the ruling, the caning was performed by Asfi, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Tsubaki, Lili and Lefiya, while Freya elected to forgive Hermes. The caning did not seemed to have the desired effect, as Hermes seemed to have enjoyed it from the pretty girls. That was particularly troubling for Lefiya while she delivered the punishment. The remaining punishment would be applied at the guild when they return.

Their return to the surface still had to wait for the medicine to arrive. Bete and Allen left a day before, thus it would be expected that at least another day would be needed. While they took turns tending to the patients, they still had some time for themselves. But first they did prepare a feast for the evening.

And it was quite a feast, with the restaurants from Rivira helping out. With Finn, Riveria and Gareth again entertaining Freya and Ottar, Gareth got very drunk. With Freya and Ottar busy with the Loki senior executives, Bell got to eat with Ais again. It was still very awkward between the two as the peeping happened only hours earlier. Even as an unofficial couple, Bell was too embarrassed because he saw everything, and Ais was too embarrassed because there was nothing left to imagination. And the idea of being in the pile of naked meat with Bell in the middle was really shameful. Nevertheless, they agreed to go into Rivira together tomorrow so Ais could show Bell around the town.

The next day, as Bell and Ais went on their date, 3 conspirators carefully tailed them in search of entertainment. Fortunately, the couple knew better than to hold hands in public, but that did not stop the 3 conspirators from hoping for a good show.

However, the entertainment arrived at the end of the day from Bete, who just returned from the surface to deliver the medicine. Bete ran all over Rivira to find the couple after learning about the peeping incident from some junior members of the Loki familia.

Fuming Bete "Is it true that bunny boy saw you?"

Ais embarrassed "ummmmm"

Furious Bete "He did, that bastard. AAAAARRRRR"

Anguished Bete "How can you manage to peep when I still have not all these years"

As Bete screamed at Bell, Tiona and Tione had to come out of hiding to drag him back to camp. Realizing her cover was blown, Riveria quickly left the area before Bell and Ais could discover her hiding place.

The group headed back the next day as the medicine did the trick. Everyone had enough of the dungeon and it was good to go home.

Freya updated Bell's status after they got home.

level 2

strength: 84

endurance: 193

agility: 105

dexterity: 77

magic: 569

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck

After the update, Freya gave Bell another hot kiss on the cheek. That kiss immediately reminded Bell about the maternal loving on the 18th floor and the full reveal of the goddess...


	23. Chapter 23

**Denatus**

After returning from the historic mission to the 59th floor, there was much abuzz in Orario. Due to the imminent threat of the demi spirits, the Denatus schedule was pushed up for a couple weeks. In the meeting, Loki replaced Hermes who was originally scheduled as chair because of Hermes' inability to talk with his mouth glued shut. Also with the primary topic being the new threat, it made sense for Loki to run the meeting.

Finn was front and center in the presentation, with Ottar was next to him That surprised many when they realized that it was a joint operation involving the 2 top familias.

Finn "The parasitization process is started when a jewel fetus merges with a monster. The monster then undergoes a metamorphosis and becomes much more powerful. We believe that is because the jewel fetus is an 'offspring' of a corrupted spirit. If the merged being is fed an enormous amount of high quality magic stones, then it may evolve into a demi spirit. A half-spirit half-monster being with enormous magic powers and regeneration abilities. The two that we fought were able to cast two cast extremely powerful magic spells before harvesting magic energy from nearby monsters. We estimate the attack spells to be similar to a those from a level 7 mage."

Ottar "We were fortunate to be able to defeat those 2 monsters"

Loki "I believe there could be more of these jewel fetus from a source that is deep in the dungeon. Based on the word of a hybrid human-monster that was killed by my familia, their goal is the destruction of Orario by simultaneously smuggling multiple demi spirits and other monsters to the surface."

The entire meeting erupted with this ominous information. The gods quickly formed a committee to combat this threat. In additional to Loki, Freya, Hermes and Hephaestus, Ganesha and Dionysus were also getting involved. What was not stated was that Loki and Freya suspected one or more gods were involved in the demi spirit threat, but disclosing the general information unfortunately did not flush anyone out.

After the serious business, there was an rough explanation for Hermes punishment, which was cheered by many goddesses. Of course, Loki skipped over the part where the peeping happened in the dungeon...

It was then time for the fun part of the Denatus. There were some incredibly bad nicknames given, including Take's Mikoto being named Zetsu Ei. However, no one dared confront Loki's favorite when it came to Ais Wallenstein's nickname, which was kept as Sword Princess. Then it came to Freya's new favorite.

Loki "Well, now we have the new record holder"

Apollo "Less than 1 month, are we serious?"

Freya "Actually it was 3 weeks"

Finn "And we were there to witness the level 1 event when he defeated a minotaur by his own strength", which made everyone gasp.

Finn "I, Braver, would gladly serve as a reference for Bell Cranel. Even though he was a level 2, he went down with us to the 59th floor. And he delivered two magic attacks, each of which changed the course of the battle", also skillfully avoiding the information that Freya updated Bell inside the dungeon...

Apollo "How could that be? When there are far higher level adventurers in your party including yourself and Nine Hells"

Finn "I will not disclose Bell Cranel's confidential data, but let's just say he first preempted one of the demi spirits from launching a powerful magic at us. And later on, when we were injured and near defeat, he led our counterattack with a strike that temporarily knock down the same demi spirit which had regenerated".

That drew many ouuuuu and ahhhhh comments among the gods. Apollo was practically drooling.

Loki "Well, does anyone have a suggestion for a nickname?"

Finn "Our members have been calling Bell 'little argonaut'.

Freya "I like that"

Loki "I second that", as such the Tiona's nickname for Bell was adopted without objection.

While the Denatus was ongoing, Bell was training with Ais and Tiona. Bell wanted badly to level so he was working as hard as possible to have his other stats catch up to his magic stats. Recovered from the peeping incident, Ais and Bell were having a good time sparring. Compared to their previous training, Bell has leveled and then gotten even stronger. Thus, Ais could easily tell the difference. Nevertheless, Tiona and Ais were however having a competition in the number of lap pillows given to Bell. As such, Bell had gotten to learn more about the two girls' thighs than he ever expected. Of course, not that he was complaining...

That evening, Freya gave Bell an update before telling him about his new nickname. He had a healthy jump from the day of intense training.

level 2

strength: 137

endurance: 243

agility: 171

dexterity: 128

magic: 569

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck

Freya then told Bell about Little Argonaut, which made him happy. With that, there was another hot kiss on the cheek which made Bell embarrassed as well as warm inside. He did go to bed early, as tomorrow would be a busy day. He had another day of training, but he first needed to buy new set of armor after the girls took his damaged pieces as souvenirs in the monkey pile on the 18th floor.


	24. Chapter 24

**The New Normal**

With his armor taken from him by the girls for souvenirs, Bell needed new armor. Since he liked the light armor, he went to look for the same smith, Welf Crozzo, who crafted his original armor.

Bell managed to find Welf at the Hephaestus shop and they had a great discussion. Bell loved how light the armor was while Welf was amazed he got to meet the new record holder. As other jealous smiths walked by, the two agreed to sign a contract in which Welf would provide the recorder holder with weapons and armor. What particularly impressed Welf was that Bell did not care if he refused to make magic swords. The two then would agree to meet at the same time the next day for Bell to pick up his new set of light armor.

After meeting with Welf, Bell went to see Lili. It had been a couple days since their return. There was still some mutual embarrassment about the peeping but they managed to get through it. They then made plans to go back in the dungeon at the end of the week. That would allow Bell the time to focus on training with Ais and Tiona, while Lili needed time to handle some familia business.

Then it was time for training. Ais and Tiona were already there when Bell got to the city wall. As they trained, an unexpected person dropped in. It was Lord Ottar!

Ottar "Sword Princess and Amazon, thank you for training our member. Would you like to spar with me also?"

Ais and Tiona of course jumped at the opportunity. Thus the training rotated sparring partners. Of course, no one was a match for Ottar, but Ais and Tiona learned a lot from getting beat up. They had also adapted certain training rituals. Everyone went to get potato snacks from the best stand in Orario with a cute twin-pony-tailed goddess. For dinner, Bell usually went with Ais and Tiona to the Hostess. That continued to cause whispers from other customers especially as little bits of details were leaking about the peeping. That also caused green eyes from Syr, who continued to be teased by her friend Ryuu. The only unusual matter over the week was the girls' focus on Bell's new armor. For some reason, the competition for Bell's armor in the dungeon somehow got the girls focused on owning additional pieces of Bell's armor...

This 'routine' continued until the end of the week, and Bell's stats were rising rapidly per Freya' updates. After the latest update and hot kiss on the cheek, Freya showed Bell his stats:

level 2

strength: 356

endurance: 466

agility: 423

dexterity: 335

magic: 582

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck

For a normal adventurer, these stats would already have meant a level up, but Bell agreed with Freya to wait until he reaches at least s levels.

With the end of the week, everyone took a break from the training. This was time to meet Lili for going into the dungeon. With Bell's new friendship with Welf, Bell agreed to allow Welf to join their party as a part of their agreement.

The 3 junior adventurers met up at the Babel entrance, but Lili and Welf immediately developed an animosity to each other. The trouble started because Lili thought Welf was bribing Bell with equipment in order to get the necessary experience to gain his blacksmith ability. She also gave Welf grieve for being from the fallen Crozzo family. However, after a little chat, Bell convinced the two to try being in a party for the day.

With Bell's level 2 status, they got all the way down to the 13th floor. Welf and Lili were getting along better though they still bickered a bit. However, as they were battling some monsters, a few adventurers ran by them. Lili immediately realized that they were being pass paraded...

With Lili's warning, Bell immediately used 8 firebolts in quick succession to rapidly eliminate the monsters they were fighting. While white sparkles started forming, Bell waited for the large herd of monsters to get closer. Just before the monster got with weapons range, he launched an argonaut firebolt with about 12 seconds of charge. The enhanced firebolt took out a large number of level 1 monsters, shocking Welf as he had never seen Bell's secret cannon. Even after the enhanced firebolt, there were still a lot of monsters, but Bell protected his party as well as he could. Fortunately, the big explosion also scared away a lot of the monsters, so Bell and his party were able to wipe out the remaining ones. Realizing they barely managed to avoid a bad situation, the 3 decided that they had enough for the day.

The return trip was relatively trouble-free, and the 3 went to the guild to exchange the magic crystals. As they were talking to Eina, several adventurers walked up to them. It was Mikoto, Ouka, Chigusa and Asuka of the Takemikazuchi Familia. Mikoto did a dogeza to apologize for pass parading them in the dungeon. Ouka was much less apologetic, but did say he was glad that they survived the situation. While Ouka and Welf were angry with each other, Bell made peace so the two sides agreed to maintain good relations. To help seal the peace, everyone went to the Hostess for dinner. In fact, the 2 groups agreed to go into the dungeon together the next day.

\- The Next Day -

Everyone met at the dungeon entrance. With a party of 7, they had much less trouble getting down to the 13th floor.

However, as they explored the 13th floor, a bunch of amazons ambushed their party. They were out-numbered by higher level adventurers. It did not help that Bell found it difficult to use argonaut against a bunch of beautiful amazons. 3 amazons then jumped on Bell and overpowered him to get some taste of fresh rabbit. Welf and Ouka were knocked out, while Mikoto was beaten till she could not get up. Chigusa and Asuka were also beaten down while the amazons laughed at their weakness. Having beaten Bell's party down, the amazons tied up Bell and took him back to the surface...


	25. Chapter 25

**Bad Situation**

After Bell was taken away by the amazon barbelas, the defeated party members started to recover. Mikoto first managed to get up and went to wake up Welf and Ouka. Fortunately they managed to get themselves together before monsters approached them. After killing a few almiraj, they quickly headed back up to the surface. They immediately went to get help. Lili and Welf went to the Loki familia while Mikoto and her familia went to the Freya familia.

Meanwhile Bell was brought to Belit Babili, the home of the Ishtar familia. Turns out that Aisha was the leader of the group, but her mission was to deliver the record holder to Ishtar's chambers. Inside the room, Bell was stripped and changed into something provocative, before being tied down to the bed. As he awaited his fate, he could hear laughter outside the room.

\- Outside the Ishtar's Chambers -

Ishtar was talking to her barbelas and was quite pleased with the successful capture of Freya's favorite. Apparently, Ishtar had a great hatred and jealousy of Freya. After discovering Freya's new favorite was the new recorder holder, she expended the necessary manpower to spy on Bell for the kidnapping. With the rumored purity of the new record holder, she wanted to corrupt him absolutely and rub it in Freya's face...

\- Outside the Twilight Manor -

Mikoto and her familia managed to make it back to the surface despite their injuries. Despite still bleeding from multiple areas, Mikoto pleaded with the guards to see the Loki executives, who Lili said were good friends of Bell.

\- Outside the Folkvang** -**

While limping, Welf and Lili reached the Folkvang and told the guards that they are in Bell Cranel's party and that he has been kidnapped. Realizing the seriousness of the matter, they were immediately taken inside.

\- Inside Ishtar's Chamber -

After talking to her barbelas, Ishtar went inside to have some fun with her prize. With the doors bolted behind her, she sat on top of Bell and starting having fun with him. She gave Bell a quick kiss on the cheek and used her charm powers on Bell. Then she untied Bell and instructed him to ravage her...

\- The Twilight Manor -

After a small delay, Mikoto was brought to meet the Loki executives. Once Mikoto mentioned that Bell Cranel was kidnapped, everyone jumped and asked who did it. With the description of the amazons dressed like barbelas, they realized that it was likely the Ishtar familia. While Finn and Riveria discussed what to do, Ais took off in ariel without waiting on a decision. Seeing this, Tiona, Tione and Bete chased after her, while Finn, Riveria and Gareth looked at each other in shock. Realizing that a battle with a significant familia may soon be starting, they sent Lefiya to notify Loki and chased after Ais themselves.

\- Inside the Folkvang** -**

After Lili and Welf told Freya and Ottar of their account of what happened, Freya immediately used her powers to confirm the situation. Indeed, she found that Bell was inside the Belit Babili and that his pure clear soul was being affected. Wasting zero time, she told Ottar that this is total war and she wants Ishtar eliminated. Even Ottar was worried because he had never seen Freya this angry. It was not a screaming angry, but an anger deeply rooted which could only be satisfied by bloodshed. Following instructions, Ottar immediately mobilized his familia, and they headed to the Belit Babili ready for all out war.

\- Inside Ishtar's Chamber -

After charming Bell, Ishtar waited for Bell to make her feel good. As she waited for Bell to ravage her as instructed, Bell got up and pushed her down. Pleased with the masculine manuever, Ishtar waited for Bell to take the next step. However, instead of doing as instructed, Bell tied her hands together using the rope that was used to hold him. Ishtar was very surprised why the charm did not work and so tried using her charm again. Instead, Bell then tied her to the bed. Furious at the rejection of her beauty and her charm, Ishtar screamed for help from her attendants...

\- At the edge of the Entertainment District -

Ais arrived first with her ariel, with Bete, Tiona and Tione following as quickly as they could. She then headed straight for Belit Babili. As they followed, the 3 colleagues were really worried.

Tione "I have never seen Ais like this."

Tiona "Ais could probably destroy most of the barbelas by herself. This is going to be ugly"

Seeing the first barbela, Ais stopped and hit the lower level barbela really really hard with her scabbard. Knocked against a wall, the barbela feared for her life at the hands of the famous Sword Princess, and thus begged for her life when Ais drew her desperate.

Ais "Do you know where they have taken the human with the white hair?"

Barbela "I am not sure. There is a lot of activity at the Belit Babili."

With that information, Ais continued towards the Belit Babili until she saw another barbela. She then repeated the same strike with her scabbard and then asked the same question.

Barbela 2 "Please do not kill me. I saw the boy at the Belit Babili. He was captured and brought to Ishtar"

Having confirmed the location, Ais headed at top speed for the Belit Babili.

Bete "We have to make sure Ais does not kill a god."

Tiona "Do you think Ais would do that? The punishment would be incredibly severe"

Tione "With the look in her eyes, I am not sure. We have to prevent her from doing anything crazy"...

\- At Another Area of the Entertainment District -

The Freya familia arrived. Freya wanted to take a scorched earth approach. The thought of Ishtar violating little argonaut was making her blood boil.

As the destruction proceeded, many ran for their lives. There was going to be no mercy.

As the Freya members headed towards Belit Babili, everything behind them was torched.

\- Inside Ishtar's Chamber -

When Ishtar's assistants came in, they were shocked to find the rabbit freed and Ishtar tied down. When they tried to stop Bell, he ran around them and escaped outside the chamber. As he ran along the hallway, more barbelas chased after him...


	26. Chapter 26

**Kill, Kill, Kill**

\- At the Main Entrance for Belit Babili -

Ais arrived at the entrance with golden lightning emanating out of her golden eyes. There was a large concentration of barbelas who tried to put up resistance. As Ais threw them by the side, there was a large woman in her way. Knowing who that was, Ais drew desperate from the scabbard. Thus a vicious battle ensued with deadly intent.

Bete, Tione and Tiona were still running as fast as they could, but they could only see Ais ripping apart opponents from afar.

\- On One Side of the Entertainment District -

As the Freya members were destroying everything in their path, a few barbelas tried to resist. However, the Freya members quickly disposed of them, stepping on them like insects.

Wanting to secure Bell, Freya, Allen and Ottar headed for the Belit Babili, while the Gulliver brothers and other 1st class adventurers spearheaded the absolute destruction of the entire area.

\- Inside Ishtar's Chamber -

Ishtar was freed from her bed, and was furious. But then there was more news.

Aisha "Ishtar sama, the Sword Princess is at the front door, and is beating the barbelas. Phryne is now fighting with her. Also the Freya familia is attacking and burning down everything in the entertainment district. It seems they are heading straight for here."

Ishtar became overcome with fear. A confrontation with Freya is bad enough. But now, for some reason, the Loki familia is now allied with the Freya familia. There was no way to counter such a combined force.

\- Elsewhere Inside the Belit Babili-

As the barbelas chased Bell around the Belit Babili, he was running for his life or more accurately for his body. After turning a corner, he was able to enter a room to hide inside. Inside the room, there was a beautiful young girl in a nightie with blond hair and cute fox ears. Seeing Bell, the young girl stripped down and approached Bell. However, she fainted and fell when she began to remove Bell's clothing...

\- At the Main Entrance for Belit Babili -

Ais was not holding back against Phryne. With her higher stats, she quickly got the advantage. She slashed away at the large woman as if Phryne was a monster and drew blood multiple times.

By that time, Bete, Tione and Tiona arrived and all 3 had to worked together to hold Ais back from actually killing Phryne. At that point, Freya and Ottar had also arrived along with Allen.

Furious Freya "Allen, don't kill their fat captain, but I want you to break every bone in her body. I mean literally every bone. I don't want her to be able to use a weapon again."

Allen "Yes Freya sama"

Freya's order shocked Tiona and Tione, but Ais had no other concern except Bell.

Freya "Ottar, let's go find Bell"

Hearing Freya, Ais, Tiona and Tione followed them, while Bete stayed at the entrance area as Allen followed Freya's instructions.

\- Inside the Room of the Fox-Eared Prostitute -

The young girl with the fox ears woke up after a short while and apologized for fainting. After getting dressed, Bell started talking to calm her down. Though both found out they like fairy tales and hero stories. After a while, she said she was not worthy of dreaming about such grand stories as she was a prostitute, which Bell said that was not true. Seeing Bell's kindness, she helped Bell by teaching him how to escape from the building and the entertainment district. Before leaving Bell introduced himself and the girl told Bell that her name was Haruhime. Bell then left for a side entrance which took him away from most of the barbelas.

\- Near Ishtar's Chamber -

Freya, Ottar, Ais, Tione and Tiona approached the chamber. Seeing the look on Freya's face, Ishtar tried to run away, so they split up. Freya and Ottar chased after Ishtar while Tiona, Tione and Ais went to search for Bell.

Eventually Ishtar, Freya and Ottar ended up on the roof of the building. Ishtar tried to beg for her life, but Freya showed her no mercy. As Ishtar back up towards the edge of the building, Freya followed with deadly intent having Ottar at her side. Even as Ishtar continued to cry and beg, Freya had a cold steeled look that did not have a drop of mercy.

Eventually, Ishtar could not back up any further with her heels at the very edge of the roof. With no second thought, Freya pushed Ishtar off the roof. There soon was a pillar of light back to heaven.

With their goddess gone, the barbelas' token resistance even was eliminated. Ais was not showing much mercy either, as she was hitting the barbelas out of pure anger and frustration. However, they could not find Bell after a thorough search of the building.

\- Ten Minutes Later -

All the barbelas were herded into a circle at the front of the building. They had watch Allen literally break every bone in Phryne's body, as she was now a total helpless mess on the ground. Either though they cried for mercy, Freya's familia ignored them. At the same time, Ais were extremely upset as they could not find Bell. The interrogation of Aisha and others also yielded nothing as they could only say that he escaped.

Fortunately, Finn, Riveria and Gareth had arrived. They immediately told Ais to calm down and stand down, and that further bloodshed was unnecessary.

On the roof, Freya finally calmed down a bit and remembered to use her power to find Bell. After identifying Bell at the edge of the complex with his clear soul intact, she was much relieved. She then quickly had her members run to secure Bell.

\- Another Ten Minutes Later -

Bell was brought to the main entrance area where all the barbelas were held lying on the ground. The whole scene looked really scary and he felt sorry for them.

Freya and Ottar had came down to inspect the captives. It was time to figure out what to do with them. It looked really bad for the barbelas. Freya wanted to deal with them harshly, and the Loki executives were not about to defend the barbelas from Freya's wrath.

As Freya was considering selling them as slaves or worse, Bell begged for mercy. Doing a dogeza, Bell apologized to his goddess for getting her worried. He further elaborated that Haruhime had helped him escape and that many of the barbelas seemed to be under some type of control by Ishtar.

With Bell's plea on behalf of Haruhime, Freya agreed that she will keep Haruhime to reward her for helping Bell escape. As far as the other barbelas were concerned, she allowed Bell to decide what to do with them, as he was the victim. Seeing Bell was safe, Freya and Ottar headed back to their home.

Being the kind nice guy, Bell certainly was not going to treat the prisoners roughly. He had their bindings cut, and told them they would not be harmed, earning him more than 100 admirers at the same time. Bell also talked to his friends and tried to find familias for the prisoner barbelas.

As the unofficial girlfriend, Ais did not approved of Bell spending so much time around the barbelas. Thus Ais stayed by Bell's side as he dealt with the them. Having the same concern, Freya assigned a couple junior members to monitor the situation...


	27. Chapter 27

**Chrysalis**

Bell worked really hard with different deities and the guild to find homes for the barbelas. That really impressed the barbelas, who knew they were in the wrong kidnapping him in the first place. With Ishtar back in heaven, they were powerless without their falna. But yet he continued to try to help them while getting nothing in return.

Aisha was particularly impressed and it turned out that she was close to Haruhime. Thus the two went to Bell. Haruhime thanked Bell with tears in her eyes.

Teary Haruhime "Bell sama, we are really appreciative of what you are doing. Thank you for saving me and all the barbelas"

Aisha in tears "Bell, I am so glad there is someone like you in the Freya familia who would protect Haruhime. I want to apologize for leading the kidnapping mission. I am so so incredibly sorry."

Bell "That is fine. I hope everything will work out for everyone."

Haruhime and Aisha wanted to help Bell. Hearing his stomach make a loud sound, everyone laughed and knew he was starving. Asking Bell what he wanted to eat, Bell suggested the Hostess. Realizing these girls had lost everything in the attack and the burning of the entertainment district, Bell borrowed some money from Ais so Haruhime and Aisha could bring back take-out from the Hostess.

After Haruhime and Aisha left, Bell noticed Ais did not look right at all. He then realized he had mostly ignored his unofficial girlfriend when she came to save him, and she looked like she was very pained by the events. Thus he suddenly gave her a long hug and said thank you, shocking everyone there. The hug was magical, as Ais teared up and her anger calmed down. Realizing that Ais was starting to get better, he pulled her down to give her a lap pillow in front of the entire crowd. Despite the huge embarrassment, not only did Ais not resist, she welcomed the comfort of Bell's lap. After a few minutes, it completely wiped out her remaining anger, especially after he started stroking her hair like she did with him before.

No one had ever seen the 1st class sword princess treated in such a way before, but it was clearly helping and it made her happy. Mini-Ais was literally rolling on the floor in celebration. Finn, Riveria and the rest of the Loki familia were relieved to see Ais returning to her normal self as even Bete was scared when Ais went into killer mode. The junior Freya members also watched the lap pillow and realized Bell was the real hero. Lili, Welf, Mikoto and Ouka, who came to the entertainment district after the Freya attack, realized that Bell had taken command of the entire situation. The large group of barbelas also watched Bell calm the angry princess and knew that he had totally assumed control. It was as if Bell was doing what he was meant to do.

After Ais was feeling better, Finn and Gareth returned to the twilight manor to report to Loki while Riveria stayed there to be supportive. As they were heading out, Haruhime and Aisha came back with the food. Following them were Syr and Ryuu who came to check on Bell. Syr, Ryuu and other waitresses from the Hostess also brought large amounts of food for the large group, which had not had much since breakfast. During their meal, Lefiya arrived and was happy to see her sisters. She was apparently ordered to stay at the Twilight Manor by Loki during the battle, but finally allowed to go to check on Ais when Finn and Gareth returned. She was also shocked to see Bell running the whole show and her idol sister by his side as his princess.

With the situation greatly improved, Bell focused on working out what to do with the barbelas. Eina also arrived. Seeing what was happening, she became really impressed with the young one who just turned level 2, and starting feeling a strange feeling in her heart.

Hermes and Asfi soon showed up and agreed to accept Aisha. Many additional gods also came by as coordinated by Eina and the guild. By the end, all the barbelas who wanted to be in a familia were given falnas on the spot. Those who did not want a falna included completely traumatized Phryne, even after she was treated with multiple potions.

The entire disaster, which could have been a slaughter of unprecedented proportions, had been mitigated thanks mostly to the white hair boy. Afterwards, Bell and Ais decided to go for dessert at the Hostess, and were followed by a large group consisting of Tiona, Tione, Bete, Lefiya, Riveria, the Freya members, Welf, Lili,Ouka, Mikoto, Haruhime and Aisha. On their way there, Bell held hands with Ais on the walk there. He was no longer going to hide their close relationship in public. Thus, after the war, the big news in Orario would be the inter-familial relationship between the Sword Princess and the new record holder.

After the sweets, Bell walked Ais back to the Twilight Familia along with Riveria, Bete and the twins, Haruhime and the Freya members. When they got to the gate, he gave Ais a hug, a thank you and a kiss good night on the lips despite the company. Bell then returned to his home with Haruhime and the Freya members.

After Haruhime got her room and settled down, Bell knocked on his goddess' door. After going inside, he did another dogeza and thanked Freya. Freya sat down on the floor and happily gave him a lap pillow which helped remove her fury from the day. Before going back to his room, Bell gave Freya a long hug, a kiss on the cheek and a thank you, which shocked Freya but gave her a feeling she had never felt before. After Bell left, Freya smiled to herself realizing Bell had become assertive. This may be the 'true calling' of Bell's pure clear soul. At the same time, she also knew that it would be difficult for her to say no to anything he asked. That made her positively giddy...


	28. Chapter 28

The next day, Orario was abuzz in news. The Freya familia had to pay a huge fine with the destruction of the entertainment district. Fortunately, the fine was later adjusted lower with help from Loki and Hermes. The real news was the heart breaker involving the inter-familial relationship between the Sword Princess and the new record holder. The heart breaker for 1000 people that is.

At breakfast, Freya talked to her familia about the fine, but indicated that they could readily afford it. Bell thanked Freya for her rescue again, but Freya told Bell that she would do it again without a second thought. What Freya was more concerned about was updating Bell and his training. The update was performed right after breakfast, showing good progress.

level 2

strength: 389

endurance: 501

agility: 493

dexterity: 380

magic: 636

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck

It was then time to give Haruhime her falna, and the results shocked everyone involved. Freya discovered Haruhime's unprecedented level-boosting magic Uchide no Kozuchi. When asked, Haruhime told them that the Ishtar familia used to take her deep into the dungeon in a metal box to take advantage of her magic. Realizing the importance of the magic, Freya immediately ordered the information to be kept within a tight circle of Ottar, Bell and Haruhime.

\- At the Twilight Manor -

There was a huge reaction to the announcement about the relationship between Ais and Bell. Despite the numerous jealous people, Tiona, Tione and Riveria were enjoying the entertainment from teasing Ais about a wedding. Even though Ais liked the sound of that, Ais was thoroughly embarrassed and unable to fight back. While disappointed, Loki realized that the fat lady had sang and had to accept that the princess had selected her chosen one.

Excited with having a boyfriend, Ais wanted to go to the Freya home to visit Bell. Loki approved the visit but worried about how Ais would be treated there. Thus, she sent Riveria with Ais to make sure everything would be alright.

\- At the Folkvangr -

Bell, Ottar and Freya were in the midst of discussing Bell's training when there was suddenly a big commotion. Allen came in to report that Ais Wallenstein and Riveria Nine Hells were requesting permission to visit. Seeing the color of Bell soul instantly got even brighter with simply the mention of the sword princess, Freya approved the visit and told her members to treat the Loki members with respect and hospitality. Freya already knew what the end result was going to be, and there was no point to resist the ultimate fate. Smiling, she also knew that she was unable to say no to Bell in any case.

Soon Ais and Riveria entered, and Freya invited them for tea at the private dining room.

Freya "So here is my Bell's official new girlfriend?"

Ais nodded embarrassingly which also brought a blush to Bell's cheeks.

Freya "Well, Bell, are you not going to offer your girlfriend some food?"

Jumping into action, Bell brought in more food for Ais and Riveria.

Freya "This is something that is certainly unexpected. However, if this is what you want Bell, then I will certainly support you"

Bell "Thank you goddess Freya"

Freya "However, we must still discuss your training. Do you wish to train with your girlfriend? And Ottar?"

Ottar "I had been training with Bell, the Kenki and the amazon."

Freya "Well, Ottar, then continue to do so at your discretion. You have my full support. I would like to see Bell-kun reach his full potential"

Ottar "Freya sama, we will continue to train on the city walls. It is more private so everyone can focus better"

Freya "Nine Hells, we will continue be open to some joint missions. I suspect these 2 young ones would be very worried about each other if they are separated on missions. So it may be better for them to be in the same missions so they do not lose focus"

Riveria "Thank you, Freya sama. I will advise my captain and goddess Loki of your generous offer"

Riveria "As you are aware, we want to trace down a second exit from the dungeon. We will soon be investigating Melen.

Freya "Bell, you may join that mission if you like. Be sure to have at least one 1st class adventurer with you from the familia."

Bell "Thank you, goddess Freya."

Ottar "Bell, Allen will go with you on the Melen mission. Until then, we will continue to train at the city walls"

\- An Hour Later -

Bell, Ottar, Tiona and Ais met at the city wall. Joining them were also Loki and Finn, who wanted to check out the training in person. When Bell went on the 59th floor mission, he advanced to level 2 but fought almost like a new level 3. Now as a mid level 2, he fought a lot like a mid level 3.

Against Ais, Bell was able to block her basic attacks, while getting some counter attacks in. When Bell sparred with Tiona, he had a tougher time as she was stronger and had better endurance than Ais. Her lack of magic attacks did not matter as Ais did not use ariel in training. Fighting Ottar was basically impossible at this point, but he simply got the feel of fighting an enormously powerful opponent.

Finn "Wow, it is hard to believe that he has been an adventurer about 1 month"

Loki "Yes, you can actually see his progress during training. It is hard to believe"

Finn "I can see why so many get frustrated with Bell. His progress makes everyone feel frustrated as if they are like snails lol"

The training went on for a week as the Loki executive captains planned their Melon trip. Loki wanted to get the perfect bathing suits for all her girls. Bell and Allen were the fortunate 2 guys who would be able to see the display of beauty...


	29. Chapter 29

**Melen**

It was time to go on the Melen mission. Freya gave Bell a final update and the typical stimulating kiss on the cheek. The week of training did a lot of good. Bell was an advanced level 2 now who fought like an advanced level 3.

level 2

strength: 597

endurance: 712

agility: 736

dexterity: 583

magic: 684

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck

Bell and Allen then met up with the Loki girls to head towards Melen. To be honest, Allen hated being the babysitter, but he was going to obey Freya, and he also understood why it was so important to protect Bell.

After the two left the Freya home, Freya and Ottar had some serious plans. They were going to start Haruhime's training. With that special magic, they wanted to get a better understanding of the level boosting and what the limits were. They also wanted Haruhime to advance in her stats so she would not have to be kept in a metal box on the battlefield.

At the city gates, Bell and Allen met up with the Loki girls, and apparently Goddess Loki would also be going on the mission. Bell was sort of confused about the naughty look on the goddess...

Nevertheless, the large group headed out for Melen. After they arrived, Loki had Bell and Allen go around town to check for reports of monsters. Loki would then take the girls to check on the underwater entrance to the dungeon.

\- In Melen -

While Bell was a bit surprised to be running around in Melen with just Allen, he did not question the instructions. After talk to many locals in the town, everyone indicated that they have not seen the green snake like monster. The two then did a quick check of the sewers and found that the mithril seals were also intact. Having found no clues, Bell and Allen went to look for the rest of their party.

\- At a Lake South of Melen -

After talking to Njord, Loki learned of a good location with a lot of privacy. When they arrived at the shores of the lake, Loki opened her luggage with numerous swimsuits for the girls to wear. Turns out the evil goddess had plans to do perverted things to the girls in the secluded location. As Loki lounged on the beach, her eyes locked onto Ais, the twins, Lefiya, Alicia and other gorgeous members. Loki practically was back in heaven, drooling from the side of her mouth. However, when she try to grab a piece or 2, there was no reward and some severe punishment. That was until she found an unsuspecting Lefiya...

Instead of worrying about the mission, the girls were having fun playing in the water. However, everyone quickly learned that Ais could not swim. As Ais sank, Tiona and Tione had to rescue her. While Ais was unconscious lying on the sand, Loki ran towards the blonde beauty hoping to resuscitate her. Unfortunately Bell and Allen had arrived, and Riveria told Bell to perform his mouth-to-mouth task, break Loki's heart. There was no hesitation in Bell, though it was embarrassing with everyone watching. After some serious mouth-to-mouth action, Ais woke up coughing out water...

After Ais recovered thanks to Bell's strong effort, it was time to do their job. The real objective of the trip was to make sure that the underwater entrance to the dungeon was still plugged. The Amazon twins used their diving development ability to inspect the underwater entrance, which was still plugged. However they did find violas nearby but quickly defeated those monsters.

Having verified the presence of the violas, the group became very suspicious of the local townspeople. Why were they hiding the existence of the monsters? Also, where did the monsters come from, as the dungeon seal was intact as were the sewer seal. Thus, they decided to do a very thorough search of the town and nearby areas.

\- Back in Melen -

The first item on Loki's agenda was the local guild office.

To their surprise, they were told that they were not aware of snake like monsters. Instead, Rubato, the local head, asked them to deal with the Kali familia, which was causing trouble locally. Running into a dead-end, they split into several groups.

\- At Njord's Home -

Loki, Riveria and several junior members went to see Njord. Tiona, Tione, Bell and Allen would check the fishermen areas on the shore. Ais, Lefiya, Alicia and several junior members would perform a very thorough search of Melen.

Loki's group soon discovered that the local guild and Njord were involved in a scheme that used violas to keep the monster population down in the lake. When asked why he would be involved, Njord explained that there was a large number of aquatic monsters eating all of the fish, which made life difficult for fishermen. Apparently a mystery person lend him the violas as long as they could continue to smuggle monsters and other goods. Upon further questioning, Njord revealed that the Ishtar familias was involved as the middlemen between Evilus and Njord.

After Njord's confession, they immediately headed for the fishermen area to meet up with Tione's group.

\- At the Pier -

The twins, Bell and Allen searched the fishermen area, and found the Kali familia's ship. Furthermore, Argana and Bache were there with a large group of amazons. Argana and Bache immediately recognized the twins and started to push their buttons. When Argana asked Tione whether she regretted killing Seldas, Tione immediately exploded. While Argana and Tione fought, Bache faced off against Tiona.

At the same time, the remaining amazons saw male prey and went after Allen and Bell. They had no idea what they got themselves into...

\- Around Town -

Ais, Lefiya and their group performed a very thorough search of Melen, but they found nothing. Suddenly, they heard that there was a big battle at the pier. Realizing that would be the groups with the twins and Bell, they headed towards the pier at top speed.

\- A Few Minutes Later at the Pier -

It turned out that Bell and Allen were fighting with 6 level 3 amazons. Allen had little trouble knocking out his 5 amazons, but he allowed Bell to fight a level 3 opponent. Even though Bell was only an advanced level 2, he was fighting pretty even with the advanced level 3. Not wishing to harm the pretty amazon, Bell went for a knock out. He fired off several firebolts in quick succession, forcing the amazon to jump far away. That bought time for argonaut charging. With a 10 second charge, he hit the amazon really hard in the face with an enhanced punch, rendering her unconscious.

Bell and Allen then headed for the twins. The fight was not going well, as both were getting beaten down.

With Argana almost finished defeating Tione, Allen jumped in with his spear. That excited Argana, who licked her lips for a fight with a worthy male. However, Allen was much more than she bargained for. After a short fight, Argana was defeated handily by Allen.

After Tiona was defeated by Bache, several amazons carried the tied-up Tiona to their boat. Fortunately, Ais arrived and started to battle Bache.

Seeing Tiona was still being carried up to the boat, Bell had to take action. Not wanting to hurt girls, Bell launched a 3 minute charged argonaut firebolt at the boat. The magic blew a huge hole throw the boat, sinking it. Traumatized by Bell's power, the large group of amazons surrendered as they realized they were completely outgunned.

The group then interrogated Kali, who refused to explain what she was doing in Melen. The only information Kali gave was that she had nothing to do with the violas. They did extract a promise not to bother Tiona and Tione, though Kali said that most of the amazons were useless after having been defeated by men. Tired of the stubborn Kali, Allen applied some 'extra' pressure on Kali. That successfully forced Kali to tell them that Ishtar was scary and had a trump card.

Loki then sent Riveria and several members to question Rubato at the local guild office. After some direct questions, he tried to run, but was captured and prevented from disposing of incriminating evidence. Soon, Fels appeared and expressed his disappointment in Rubato.

With the mission completed, they headed back to Orario. Apparently Kali was not aware of Ishtar's demise, but there were still a lot of questions. The biggest question was who is transporting the monsters out of the dungeon. What that evilus? Furthermore, what was Ishtar's trump card? The defeat of the Ishtar familia went quite smoothly, so they do not understand what trump card that they may have missed...


	30. Chapter 30

**New Members**

The large group returned to Orario with the mission completed. They learned that the second dungeon entrance was not near Melen, but that some unknown group is responsible for transporting the monsters out from the dungeon. And there may be unknown trump card that Ishtar did not play before returning to heaven.

Bell was really looking forward to sleeping in his own bed, though the mouth-to-mouth actions was quite stimulating. Upon reaching Folkvangr, he immediately reported to Freya, who soon gave him an update showing showed good progress from the mission.

level 2

strength: 708

endurance: 813

agility: 832

dexterity: 687

magic: 805

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck

\- The Next Day -

Bell started training with Ais, Ottar and Tiona again. With the Loki familia looking for the 2nd entrance to the dungeon, Ais and Tiona were able to train every morning. In the afternoons, Bell would adventure in the dungeon with Lili and Welf. The Take familia would also join in whenever possible. After a week, Bell's stats had almost reached s and ss levels. Reaching the desired goal, Freya finished Bell's leveling to level 3, less than 6 weeks after receiving his falna.

The news of Bell reaching level 3 hit Orario really hard. Most adventurers were completely shocked and jealous. But with 2 level jumps, everyone knew Bell was not misleading everyone regarding when he started to adventure.

\- At the Loki Familia -

Lefiya and Bete were fighting over who got to read the news release first. Both were frustrated. Bete was jealous about Ais, and gaining a level in 2 weeks was too much to bear. Lefiiya was also jealous over Ais, and Bell catching up to her level was really painful. Even though she knew that she could level to 4 whenever she wanted, her darkest fear was that Bell would make level 4 in less than 1 month. Oh the humiliation. Meanwhile, Ais was happy for her boyfriend as was Tiona for little argonaut. Loki though was not surprised by the news with the way Bell destroyed that ship in Melen...

\- At the Hostess -

Syr was very happy with the news, but she was again teased by Ryuu. Mia was also surprised by the boy, but hit Syr on the head to try to 'convince' her that the boy was taken...

\- At the Folkvangr -

Before going off to train, Bell ran into Haruhime. She was happy report to Bell about all the training she has been receiving. Apparently, Freya had done a lot of work to help her grow. She joined a group of level 2 and level 3 adventurers who were assigned to a new adventuring simulation investment. With a lot of magical construction technique, a large building was already constructed at the edge of Orario. A special feature was a 'danger room' in an enormous basement with walls simulating a labyrinth.

At that point, Freya and Ottar wanted Bell to meet with them. Freya asked about the 2 level 1 adventurers that Bell made friends with. After telling Freya about Lili and Welf, Freya asked Bell a direct question.

Freya "Would you be in favor of having them joining our familia?"

Bell "?"

After thinking it over, Bell "Lili is in the Soma familia and Welf is in the Hephaestus familia."

Freya "I can handle the mechanics of it. But would you be in favor of it if I can get Soma and Hephaetus to agree to it?"

Bell "Well, that would be nice because Lili does not get along with those in her familia. And Welf is in a similar situation though far less bad."

Freya "Little one, that is fine. Go train and I hope to have good news tonight"

\- At the City Walls -

Ais and Tiona were already there, though Ottar would be unable to train for the day as he had to accompany Freya today.

Ais "Bell, congrats on the level up"

Tiona "Little argonaut, you must let me know your secret!", but Bell had no answer for her.

Suddenly, Tione also showed up and put her assets in Bell's face to convince him to help them advance faster. That show of force was too much for Ais, as her jealousy took over with mini-Ais in war mode. Bell watched in horror as Ais beat down the amazon twins...

After the fun and games were over, it was time for serious training with Tione essentially replacing Ottar for the day. With Bell's level up, the training got even more intense. As a beginning level 3, he was fighting like a beginning level 4. The difference in fighting strength was 2 levels, so the gap had closed. Also, for the first time, they asked Bell to incorporate firebolt in the sparring, despite Bell's concerns. With a more aggressive sparring, they used quite a bit of healing potions, but it made the training much more realistic. Still, the 3 sisters had their contest to see who would give Bell the most lap pillows. Poor Bell was seeing stars by the end of the day, but that did help with his endurance stats.

\- At the Hostess -

Welf and Lili had to cancel that afternoon, and fortunately, Ais and the twins were available for training all day. After training, Bell, Ais and the twins went for dinner. It just happened that the Loki, Finn, Riveria and Gareth were also eating there.

Loki "Hey, Aissy-poo, are you going to ignore your goddess?"

Ais "No, but we need a larger table", which Mia was happy to accommodate.

Finn "Congrats on the level up, Bell, you are really amazing"

Bell "Thanks Finn. I still have a long way to go"

Riveria teased "So you mean Ais has not given you what you desire?"

That made Bell totally tomato-red while Ais was curious.

Ais "What do you desire, Bell?", which made Bell even redder.

Tione teased "Ais, would you give Bell whatever he wants?"

Ais "Certainly, he is my boyfriend", Bell was ready to hide under the table at this point...

Tiona teased "Little argonaut, she is ready to give you everything. Are you going to disappoint her?"

Bell was so embarrassed that he was literally tearing up "..."

Ais "Bell, why are you crying?", which drew more laughter.

Bell "Oh, because you are making me very happy"

Tione "Really Bell, how happy has Ais made you?"

Bell "..."

Deciding that the teasing should embarrass both of them, Riveria "Bell, we have been talking about wedding preparations.", which made both the boyfriend and the girlfriend look down and unable to answer.

Finn "Well, I think we have teased them enough...", making Bell respect Finn even more...

After the teasing, the conversation got more serious. Apparently, the Loki familia was making progress in finding out where the 2nd entrance to the dungeon was. They believed they have narrowed it to the Daedalius street area. When they asked Bell whether he wanted to take part, Bell was very interested, but he would need Freya's permission.

Having feasted at dinner, Bell walked Ais back home in a roundabout route to avoid more teasing from the Loki executives. Of course, little did they know that the twins and Riveria were up to no good. Nevertheless, they had a nice good night kiss and then Bell headed home.

\- At the Folkvangr -

It was a good training day. A lot of healing potions but a lot of progress. After getting home, Bell went to discuss the possible mission with Freya and Ottar. They were approving of the mission, but they wanted Bell to be accompanied by all 4 Gulliver Brothers. In addition, they were going to meet with the Loki executives to discuss planning in detail...

After discussing the mission, there were 2 surprises for Bell. Apparently, Freya went to Soma and Hephaestus and convinced them to agree to transfer Lili and Welf. Lili's transfer was permanent while Welf had a temporary 1-year transfer. Bell was really happy to see his friends join the familia, and they went out to have a late night snack afterwards. Over the snack, they told Bell that they would be training with Haruhime in the adventuring simulation investment. Also, Freya also recruited Aisha to help with the training...


	31. Chapter 31

**The Danger Room**

\- The Next Morning -

Bell had breakfast with Haruhime, Lili and Welf. Today was the first day of their joint training in the simulation facility. Unfortunately, with the intensive joint training, they would be unable to go into the dungeon with Bell for while. Welf and Lili were quite excited about the 'danger room' in the basement, though Welf was trying to scare the girls about the place being haunted...

After breakfast, Freya gave Bell an update. It showed the more aggressive training was having an improved result.

level 3

strength: 60

endurance: 61

agility: 70

dexterity: 58

magic: 59

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance

\- At the City Walls -

After the update, Bell headed to train though Ottar was again tied up with Haruhime's development. Fortunately, Tione joined in along with Ais and Tiona.

As the morning continued, Finn dropped by to check out the new and improved argonaut.

Finn "Each time I see you, Bell, you make a jump"

Bell "I still am so far away from my goal"

Tiona "I thought you were kissing your goal?", making the boyfriend and girlfriend quiet.

Finn "Well, have you tried pairs?"

Bell "You mean, fighting as a pair?"

Tiona "I want little argonaut as my PARTNER", which made Ais upset as she did not jump at the opportunity.

Nevertheless, the 4 traded partners often with Bell being the obvious handicap in the pairs sparring. At noon, Ais and the twins indicated they could train all day when they learned that Welf and Lili are not going to be going into the dungeon for a while.

Over lunch, Tione suggested a short trip to the dungeon because the goliath should be respawning the next day. Bell was excited about the opportunity, but he needed to get Freya's permission. Thus, they decided to head to the Folkvangr after training.

\- At the Simulation Training Facility -

Freya and Ottar monitored the simulation training. They wanted a safe environment to improve their secret ace, Haruhime, to make her tougher and stronger for going into the dungeon. They also wanted to figure out how reliable was the level boosting as well as the operating limits.

The first test was whether Haruhime can boost someone extremely high level like Ottar. If Ottar could be boosted to level 8, that would be a tremendous advantage. Per instructions, Haruhime casted Uchide no Kozuchi on Ottar. Immediately, there was a golden glow surrounding Ottar, who was filled with enormous power. Upon testing, indeed, Ottar's strength, speed and endurance seemed to have take a big step forward. The exercise continued to determine how long Haruhime could sustain the boosting for, which was 10 minutes.

After the initial test, they gave Haruhime recovery potion and then tested again after 30 minutes. The boosting was again 10 minutes. After another 30 minutes and more recovery potion, Haruhime sustained the boosting for another 6 minutes before getting really tired. Thus, not wanting to risk a mind zero, Haruhime's magic training was done for the day.

It was then Welf's turn. Freya was particularly interested in Welf's Will-o-Wisp magic. She wanted to figure out what was the distance range of the magic. Thus, they went into the danger room to test him against some captured hell hound. They were pleased to find out that the magic can be used from more than 600 feet from the target. To test any farther away, they would have to go outside or into the dungeon. So that was left for the next day. They then wanted to test whether it could be used against more powerful magic. Since this was a dangerous test, they brought in Amid to stand by in case there was a serious injury. Welf then tested his ability to cause an Ignis Fatuus while different magics were being casted. They were really pleased to find out that it worked against level 1 to level 4 mages. Not only that, the magic jamming would continue to work from at least a range of 600 feet. They would have to go outside for longer range tests. The explosions were getting serious, so it would be too dangerous to test against mages of higher than level 4.

Then it was finally Lili's turn. They were mostly interested in her ability to make quick decisions. Thus, Lili were given many different scenarios, and had to respond immediately with her counter strategy. It took an hour to go through all the scenarios with Lili, and they believed that she has an excellent tactical mind and would make a good battlefield commander.

Thus, the morning session was quite successful. In the afternoon, Freya and Ottar were going to meet with the Loki executives to discuss mission planning...


	32. Chapter 32

**Intense Training**

\- At Twilight Manor -

After lunch, Freya and Ottar went to meet with the Loki executives to discuss mission planning for finding the 2nd dungeon entrance. They discussed the logic behind searching Daedalius street area.

The conversation then evolved to the risks involved. In particular, Freya got very curious when Finn mentioned the trump card that was not played by Ishtar.

Freya "A trump card that was not played. So Ishtar did not have the trump card at that time?"

Finn "That could well be the case"

Ottar "That means that the trump card could be reasonably located near the Entertainment district."

Finn "That would be logical and Daedalius is not far from the Entertainment district."

Freya "Well what could the trump card be?"

Loki "We have thinking about that also. Well, monster or monsters, magic item would be the logical guesses"

Finn "If it is a monster, the most powerful ones we have encountered are the demi spirits"

Loki "Magic item wise, most magic items could probably remain in the possession of Ishtar"

Ottar "So the most logic guess would be one or more demi spirits"

Riveria "That would seem to be the case"

Finn "Last time there were 2 of those demi spirits, and even with all of the Loki members, Ottar and Allen, we could easily have lost. Bell's 2 argonaut cannon blasts were the difference between victory and defeat."

Freya "If another pivotal battle is upcoming, we will have to push all of our assets into the battle."

Finn "That would seem to be prudent. The enemy would have learned from the last battle also, whatever the trump card is..."

Having agreed to work together, the Loki familia would continue to search for an entrance, before another joint mission would take place. Whatever it is, it would not be simply adding Bell and the Gulliver brothers to the mission.

\- At the City Walls -

Having agreed to a short dungeon mission the next day, Bell, Ais and the twins continued to train together. After training, Bell and Ais finally had some private time together with the twins needing to go shopping with Lefiya.

\- At the Simulation Training Facility -

Haruhime's training for the afternoon would be physical fighting. It allowed her magic to recover while teaching her self-defense and fighting techniques. Being physically weaker and having a kind personality, it was slow going for Haruhime. Having Aisha's assistance was really helpful.

Lili and Welf both also received training for physical fighting with lots of sparring. At the end of the day, both were beaten up pretty badly. However, both agreed they had to get stronger so they were happy for the training.

\- That Evening at Folkvangr -

Bell and Ais went to discuss the short mission to hunt the goliath. Freya was agreeable, but she did assigned one of the Gulliver Brothers to go along.

\- The Next Day -

At the Babel, Bell and a Gulliver brother met Ais and the twins at the dungeon entrance. Many adventurers were jealously staring at the group. The 1st class adventurers were not interested in the level 1 monsters, so Bell was the lone vanguard who took care of the monsters. When they reached the mid levels, Bell still got the great majority of the excelia. When the number of monsters got to be unreasonable, Ais and Tiona did help out. Tione and the Gulliver brother mostly sat back and allowed the others to fight.

By lunchtime, they had reached the 17th floor. Right on time, the Goliath showed up. They did allow Bell the first cut at the monster as they wanted his argonaut cannon at level 3. Bell delivered quite a few physical hits in the first couple minutes. Ais and Tiona then jumped in to buy Bell some time for charging his cannon. After a 2 minute charge, Bell fired his argonaut firebolt as his 2 friends cleared the area. Amazingly, the monster was reduced to a magic stone!

Ais "Your magic has gotten more powerful"

Tiona "Wow little argonaut is amazing!"

Tione again thrusted her assets at the innocent Bell "So argonaut, are you going to share your secrets? I will show you my secrets if you show me yours", making Bell beet red and Ais furious.

As the sword princess chased the crazy amazon sisters in ariel towards the 18th floor, Bell and the Gulliver brother laughed and walked in the same direction...

\- At the Simulation Facility -

Ottar continued to be focused on Haruhime's training. They repeated the same tests as yesterday.

They wanted to see if practicing the magic would allow Haruhime to boost Ottar for longer than 10 minutes. The first test again stopped at 10 minutes. After recovery potion and 30 minutes of rest, the second test also stopped at 10 minutes. The third test after more potion and another 30 minutes ended at 7 minutes before Haruhime again got very tired. That was 1 minute longer than yesterday but it did not achieve the desired result of extending the initial boost period to more than 10 minutes.

Freya focused on Welf and his Will-o-Wisp magic. Yesterday, they determined that his magic range was at least 600 feet. Today, they went outside to see if it would work from even longer distances. After testing with some level 1 mages, they were able to use Will-o-Wisp from a distance of more than 1200 feet. They then successfully repeated the same test with level 2, level 3 and level 4 mages.

Lili's training included lessons in more and more difficult scenarios. They also taught her more about the demi spirit threat as well as the new species so she could make informed decisions.

\- On the 18th Floor of the Dungeon -

Bell and his group were pretty hungry. After Ais sufficiently punished the twins, they went to Rivira for lunch. They already achieved their goal to see how Bell would handle the goliath at level 3, and thus they headed back to the surface after lunch. The trip back was pretty uneventful. The toughest fight Bell encountered was an one-versus five situation against minotaurs. With a 10 second charged physical attack, he wiped out 3 of the minotaurs...

\- At the Simulation Training Facility -

Just like yesterday, Haruhime, Welf and Lili trained in physical attacks and defenses for the afternoon.

\- Over the Next Several Days -

The training continued for Bell, Lily, Welf and Haruhime for the rest of the week.

By the end of the week, Haruhime was able to increase her boosting time from 10 minutes to 11 minutes for the first 2 boost periods.

Bell had also gained quite a bit of experience during the week. His final update showed that he was almost 1/3 of the way through level 3.

level 3

strength: 310

endurance: 301

agility: 348

dexterity: 293

magic: 324

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance

While training was ongoing, Freya and Ottar coordinated with Loki. It appears they are closed to pinpointing several locations for the second dungeon entrance...


	33. Chapter 33

**The Unknown**

With the Loki familia narrowing down the possible locations for the second dungeon entrance, Freya and Ottar pushed as hard as they could on the training for Haruhime. First, they determined that Haruhime does not need to be in the immediate vicinity of the person that Uchide no Kozuchi was casted on. Second, they added an evening session of Uchide no Kozuchi practice while eliminating the afternoon physical combat session. Fortunately, Haruhime did not immediately get a mind zero in the evening session, but was able to sustain 2 uses before getting very tired.

At the same time, Bell's training continued with Ais and Tiona. Ottar did join their afternoon sessions while Haruhime rested. Welf's Will-o-Wisp training consisted of repeating the spell again and again until he got really tired. Then recovery potions followed by repeating the spell even more.

\- After Several Days -

The training had focused on dealing with a potential demi spirit threat. Haruhime would provide a one-time boost to level 8. That would assumed to be a one-time affair, but she could repeat the boosting if the battle last much longer or if there are multiple battles. Welf would provide long range magic jamming as Riveria's shield could not hold up the last time they fought demi spirits.

Haruhime's modified training accelerated her improvement. She was able to keep Ottar boosted for 15 minutes. Welf was able to use Will-o-Wisp from an even longer range of more than 1800 feet from the magic using person or monster.

Bell had also gained quite a bit of experience during the week. His final update showed that he was almost 1/2 of the way through level 3.

level 3

strength: 464

endurance: 456

agility: 529

dexterity: 448

magic: 487

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance

\- Daedalus Street -

The Loki familia finally found an entrance in the sewers. They discovered a secret staircase after Bete smelled violas near an old part of the sewers. Going down the stairs, they found a door made of Orichalcum and reported to Finn and Loki.

\- The Next Day -

The Loki familia and the Freya executives were ready for penetrating the secret door. The attack force would consist of 2 major groups as well as a reserve group which stayed behind in the sewers. The lead group consisted of Finn, Bete, Ais, Bell, Raul, Lefiya, as well Filvis who joined in the mission. The 2nd group consisted of Gareth, Riveria, Tione, Tiona, and the 4 Gulliver brothers. The groups were in communication with each other, Loki and Freya through communication devices from Asfi.

At the urging of Bete, who smelled trouble inside, members below level 4 were left behind in the sewers as part of a reserve group. Also staying behind in the sewers were Ottar, Allen, Hogni, Hedin, Haruhime and Welf. If needed, Ottar, Allen and Hogni would be ready to enter the fight. Haruhime, Hedin and some lower level adventurers would go along with them. In such a scenario, Haruhime would boost Ottar at the last possible second before probably retreating back to the surface. She would be guarded by Hedin and some of the lower level adventurers. Ottar would have 15 minutes as a level 8 while Welf would provide magic jamming capability for the reserve group.

Given their level 1 vulnerability, Haruhime and Welf would both be wearing Hades Hat from Asfi for invisibility.

With a key secured from the Ishtar familia location, they were able to open the door to the Knossos. The two groups then entered. As they traveled into the Knossos, they encountered a fork. The group led by Finn went left, while the group led by Gareth went right...


	34. Chapter 34

Just read the Wiki's complete synopsis for Sword Oratoria 12 from Angelo. Fortunately, I was able to incorporate changes to this fanfiction to maintain more consistency with the big reveals in Sword Oratoria 12.

**WAR**

Following a map created from Riveria's magic circles, the attack groups moved forward. At a fork, the group including Finn, Bete, Ais, Bell, Raul, Lefiya and Filvis went left in a fork while the other group with Gareth, Riveria, Tione, Tiona, and the 4 Gulliver brothers, went right.

\- With Finn's Group -

As Finn's group walked through the Knossos, they were attacked by violas and water spiders. After battling numerous monsters, they reached a large room. Valleta was in the room. After ranting based on her anger about Finn, she had a very large number of violas attack them. As they traversed the room, many water spiders also appeared. However, Bete destroyed most of the spiders. Suddenly, Finn was very concerned as his thumb ached a lot. Despite his caution, Revis appeared from a secret door and gave him a very deep wound.

Acting quickly, Raul grabbed the severely-injured Finn, and the entire group headed down a hole while Valleta laughed about Finn's injury. With Revis and Valleta giving chase, the rear guard, Lefiya and Filvis became separated from the rest of the group when Valleta shut the door on them.

Raul and Aki then tried to treat Finn's wound, but they could not make the wound close no matter what they did. Thus Aki realized that Revis must have used a cursed weapon. Unfortunately, Valleta was still chasing them, and thus they had to carry Finn to a safer location.

\- With Gareth's Group -

Gareth's group also ended up in a room like the large room Finn's group went into. Barca was in the room and was upset about their presence in the Knossos. Barca activated a large red jewel in the middle of the room, causing the entire group to fall into the trap that covered the entire floor.

\- In the Control Room -

Barca and Dix watched videos of adventurers using water films on the pedestal. Barca suggested that monster smuggling would become difficult if the adventurers were successful, forcing Dix to go join the fight.

As Dix went off, Barca continued to monitor the adventurers through the water films, and made them suffered through additional traps using his eye to remotely activate the doors and traps.

\- Lefiya and Filvus -

After being separated from Finn's group, the two Elves reached a corridor that looked different from the rest of the labyrinth. The area had multiple pillars with walls covered with murals likely from ancient ruins outside Orario. The themes of the murals were disasters and destruction, with one having a large dragon with 6 women around it. The 6 women had folded arms and closed eyes, which made Lefiya wonder if they were being sacrificed or if they were saints.

Suddenly Thanatos appeared behind a pillar. After introducing himself, he told them that the dragon was the Nidhogg, the most feared dragon in the ancient world until the 3 disasters appeared.

Lefiya "Are you Enyo"

Thanatos "No, I have never heard of Enyo"

Lefiya "Why do you want to destroy Orario?"

Thanatos "Not every god in Evilus is evil, but some are just bored while some wanted to create heroes"

Thanatos "I preside over death, and the lower world is less fun now because there is less death with the falna. With less death, there is less work for me."

As several Thanatos members arrived, Filvis used Dio Thyrsos to blind them to cover the escape for Filvis and Lefiya.

\- With Reserve Group -

Using the communication device, the reserve group learned of Finn's injuries. They made the decision to take Finn out of the Knossos. To help with the evacuation, Ottar and Allen would enter the Knossos to meet up with Finn's group for the extraction.

However, Ottar decided to hold off on activating their ace that was Haruhime's boosting. They could see that the enemy had the advantage using traps, but so far there was nothing that warranted the use of level boosting. They need to conserve their advantage as once the 15 minutes of boosting was used up, they would have to wait 30 minutes before boosting was available again.

\- With Finn's Group -

After communicating with the reserve group, they decided to separate into 2 groups. Ais, Bell and several other members would engage enemies, while Bete, Raul and support members would carry Finn to meet with Ottar and Allen.

Seeing Bete's group trying to carry Finn to safety, Dix tried to use his curse, Phobetor Daedalus, to attack them. Fortunately, Bete and Raul were able to escape from it, but it did affect more junior members. As Bete and Raul ran away with Finn towards the meeting location with Ottar and Allen, Bell and Ais came in to stop the affected members from attacking Bete, Raul and Finn.

With Bell and Ais' group protecting them, Raul and Bete were able to carry Finn to the meeting location. Ottar and Allen were already there waiting. Raul then followed Ottar back towards the entrance while Allen went with Bete to assist the attack groups.

As Ais and others bought time by blocking the attacks from the affected members, Bell tried to stop the caster to end the curse. Bell immediately launched a huge numbers of firebolts at Dix. Several firebolts impacted Dix, and the curse was ended. Seeing his advantage taken away, Dix ran behind a trap door.

Suddenly, a red hair woman appeared...

\- With the Reserve Group -

They were glad to see Finn rescued when Ottar and Raul brought him back. Seeing Finn's wound was not healing with healing potions, they immediately had Raul and a couple supporters carry Finn to Airmid's infirmary. Ottar then suggested that everyone get ready as it appeared they may soon enter the battle.

\- With Gareth's Group -

Tione, Tiona, and a few others were wandering through the hallways until they became separated. Tione's group was attacked by assassins while Tiona's group was assaulted by monsters including a large number of Poison Vermis. Meanwhile Gareth, the Gulliver brothers and several others were suicide attacked by Evilus members, who drove them into a Kaenseki trap. Even though Gareth's group ran as fast as they could, they were trapped when a trap door shut ahead of them...


	35. Chapter 35

**Big Trouble**

\- With Bell and Ais -

Revis "Aria, you are not escaping today", and started to attack Ais.

Ais was pushed back by Revis, while Bell started launching firebolts that barely had an effect on Revis. Even with Ais using Ariel, Revis did not back down and continued attacking. At that time, realizing simple firebolts were useless, Bell started charging argonant. Seeing Ais was in danger, Bell launched a 10 second charge firebolt, which did cause damage and annoyed Revis.

Annoyed, Revis still continued to press Ais though the argonaut firebolt did buy Ais some time. At that point, Bete and Allen returned and jumped into the fight. Ais, Bete and Allen had the advantage on Revis. As they continued to battle, Bell managed to charge argonaut for 1 minute before finding a window to launch the enhanced firebolt at Revis. Unable to dodge the firebolt, the blast took out her right arm, making her really annoyed and run into a secret trap door.

\- With Gareth's Group -

After being trapped when a door shut ahead of them, the floor opened up and caused them to fall into a large room below. They saw a demi spirit like the ones on the 59th floor and 2 large monsters also with a beautiful girl's upper body but a large monster's lower body with powerful hooves.

Recognizing the danger, Gareth immediately contacted the reserve group.

Gareth "Ottar, we need backup immediately. We dropped one floor into a large room, and just encountered a demi spirit like we fought before and 2 more monsters that seem like a different type of demi spirit"

-Lefiya and Filvis -

Hearing Gareth's request for assistance, the two elves headed for the lower level.

\- With the Reserve Group -

Hearing Gareth's request, Ottar, Hogni, Hedin, Haruhime and Welf headed into the Knossos. As planned, Ottar, Allen and Hogni were the vanguard, while Haruhime, Hedin, Welf and some lower level adventurers would go along with them. Given their level 1 vulnerability, Haruhime and Welf were both wearing Hades Hat from Asfi for invisibility.

As they approached the target area, the invisible Haruhime boosted Ottar to level 8 and then was taken back towards the surface by Hedin. Ottar, Hogni and the invisible Welf then continued forward.

\- With Bell and Ais -

Hearing Gareth's request, Bell, Ais, Bete, Allen and other members headed for the lower level to assist with the 3 demi spirits. Bell was charging argonaut while running. As they approached where Gareth and others were, they heard loud explosions likely from extremely powerful magics...

By the time they reached Gareth's location, they saw the Loki executives and other members lying on the ground. They were not moving and bleeding badly. The lower level members poured potions on the badly injured executives and other members.

Seeing the familiar type of demi spirit, Bell launched an enhanced firebolt that had charged for 3 minutes. As he fired, the other 2 large monsters started charging towards them while Bete, Ais and Allen prepared to engage...


	36. Chapter 36

**Heavy Damage**

\- At the Large Room -

The potions prevented Gareth, Riveria, Tiona, Tione and the Gulliver brothers from bleeding to death. Though they were in a daze and still not in a position to fight. So the other members helped them get to at a safer location.

At that point, Bell's 3 minute charge firebolt hit the demi spirit, causing enormous damage. The beautiful girl portion of the monster was blown away along with a part of the monster body itself. However, the magic stone was not destroyed and it was clear that the monster was regenerating.

Bete, Ais and Allen then engaged the 2 large monsters, but their weapons barely did any damage to the adamantium-like bodies of the monsters. As they continued to strike the other 2 large monsters, the monsters used a lightning magic similar in form to Ariel to protect themselves. That magic blew away Bete, Ais and Allen against the far wall. As they tried to get up, the monsters then slammed their hooves into the ground that caused a huge explosion, which blew the three away again.

Seeing that Ais, Bete and Allen were heavily damaged, the other members tried to heal them with potions.

That left Bell alone against both monsters. One monster then used its hoof attack against Bell, which caused another powerful explosion that also knocked Bell against the wall. The other monster then used its hoof attack against Bell, which caused heavy damage on Bell. See how Bell had a powerful cannon, the monsters tried to finish off Bell using their lightning magic. Fortunately, the rabbit was still able to avoid the attack, despite having severe injuries. The damaged rabbit continued to buy time for his injured colleagues by running around the large room.

\- With Ottar's Group -

Ottar, Hogni and the invisible Welf ran as quickly as possible towards the large room, even bypassing some monsters. They knew the attack groups could be in big trouble...

-Lefiya and Filvis -

Lefiya had already activated elf ring, and was using concurrent chanting to chant Rea Laevateinn. Once they reached the big room, Lefiya launched her magic at the area of the 3 demi spirits without hitting their allies.

The spell caused huge damage to the same demi spirit that had recovered from Bell's argonaut firebolt. With the other two monsters , the spell also burnt up most of the beautiful girl top half on them, but their bodies were not severely damaged. All 3 were starting to recovered.

\- Rabbit Action -

That bought time for Bell to receive some treatment with some potions while charging argonaut again as the grand bell rang loudly. However, the 2 large monsters were recovered after 3 minutes and charged towards Bell. Before they reached him, the 3 minute charge limit off firebolt was launched. He was able to turn one of the 2 monsters to dust, but the other one survived though it was down again from damage. Unfortunately, Bell went mind down from the overuse of magic.

At that time, the magic using demi spirit had regenerated and started to chant but Lefiya's arcs ray was unable to stop its chanting...


	37. Chapter 37

**Conclusion**

With Lefiya unable to stop the demi spirit's chanting, suddenly, there was a big explosion as Welf used Will-o-Wisp to cause Ignis Fatuus. That stopped the chanting, while some minor damage also confused the demi spirit.

Ottar then jumped into action against the other large monster while Hogni carried Bell to Lefiya and Filvis.

Ottar, with a faint golden glow, looked positively dangerous in battle. As Filvis poured more potions on Bell, Lefiya started chanting another spell.

Ottar and Hogni were fighting the monster pretty evenly. Ottar's large blade was able to do some serious damage against the monster even while the monster also delivered serious damage to Ottar.

The magic-using demi spirit also starting chanting again, but Welf waited for the best time to cause another Ignis Fatuus. That explosion did some damage, but then the demi spirit looked at Welf realizing Welf was the cause of the spell failure. It then did a quick chant icicle edge attack against Welf who did not have the time to react. The ice severely damaged Welf.

With Welf knocked out, the demi spirit started chanting again. Suddenly a huge wind impacted on it...

Ais had finally recovered enough to fight, and launched an ariel attack. Seeing Ais fighting, Tiona, Tione, Gareth and Riveria also got up to help. Frustrated with their own weakness and unwilling to stay defeated, Bete and Allen also stood up to fight.

Tiona, Tione and Gareth went to assist Ais while Bete and Allen went to help Ottar and Hogni.

With the help of Tiona, Tione and Gareth, Ais was able to prevent the demi spirit from launching any serious magic. Every time they were knocked down, they got up again to keep fighting.

At the same time, the tide was turned with Ottar, Hogni, Allen and Bete ganging up on the other large monster. Ottar though realized he had a time limit on his enhanced level...

Lefiya then yelled "Get away now!" Lefiya then launched another Rea Laevateinn after her allies were able to get a sufficient distance from the monsters. The spell burned away the top human halves of the monsters as Lefiya fell down from mind zero.

While the 2 monsters were regenerating, Ais launched her Lil Rafaga at the magic using demi spirit, killing it. With the advantage, Ottar had the chance to get many deep slashes into the other monster, disabling it. Everyone then jumped in to finish off the monster, while Riveria checked on Bell and Lefiya.

It was a hard-earned victory. They now had to tend to the wounded and the dead...


	38. Chapter 38

**Injuries and Recovery**

After the defeat of the 3 demi spirits, the wounded were treated, while the unconscious Bell, Lefiya and Welf were given lap pillows to help with their recovery. Unfortunately, several junior Loki members did not survive the battle...

Realizing they were very vulnerable, Ottar, Gareth and Riveria agreed to retreat back up to the surface. With Ais carrying Bell, Tiona carrying Lefiya, and Allen carrying Welf, they were able to quickly return to the surface.

Freya and Loki were eagerly waiting at the Knossos entrance when they reached the surface. There were many hugs and tears. Freya immediately checked on Bell who was carried up by Ais. When Freya patted his hair and kissed his cheek, it caused a very blue feeling in Ais even though it was his goddess. Loki, Riveria and Gareth hugged while crying over the lost members. Together, they took Bell, Lefiya, Welf and those who needed treatment to the hospital. Everyone was also happy to learned that Finn was safe and already recovering in the hospital.

That night, Bell, Welf and Lefiya were kept in the hospital close to Finn. They were kept in one big room so Tiona, Tione and Ais could stay with them.

\- The Next Morning -

Freya, Ottar and Loki went to visit their children. Finn was already up to meet them and appeared to be fully recovered. When they went in the large recovery room, it was hard for Loki and Freya to watch, as Ais slept peacefully hugging the rabbit. Short after, Bell, Welf and Lefiya all woke up, and all seemed ok. However, Loki and Lefiya were really upset watching Ais still peacefully hugging the embarrassed rabbit as she slept with a cute smile.

After Bell had to survive another 10 minutes of death stares, Ais finally woke up. She realized everyone was looking at Bell and her, but was fine with it. It was time to go home, but there would be funeral services to bury the dead Loki members including Line.

After returning back to the Folkvangr, Freya updated Bell and the jump in magic stats was the most incredible. While Bell could level, Freya suggested to wait on his other stats and Bell agreed. There would soon be a lot of training with Ais, Tiona and Ottar, while Freya would be focusing on Haruhime's training. They needed to find ways to improve on her boosting, as Ottar's boosted level was incredibly important to the mission...

After a bath and some good food, it was time for the funeral service. There were many tears and hugs there, and there was a lot of anger, particularly against Valleta and a few others who needlessly killed Line and many others. Bete also went out of control. He was furious that the 'weaklings' went sent into the Knossos to their death when everyone knew how difficult it would be. At the end, he stormed out of the service. There was unfinished business with the Knossos and those behind it...

Bell Cranel

level 3

strength: 746

endurance: 951

agility: 923

dexterity: 860

magic: 1198

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance


	39. Chapter 39

After the funeral services, Loki sent Ais and Tiona to search for Bete.

At the training facility, Ottar and Freya continued to manage the training of Haruhime, Welf and Lili.

At the city wall, Bell trained with Tione for the day while Ais and Tiona searching for Bete. With Bell having taken a significant leap in stats after the mission, the training got even tougher. Still, with her advantages over Bell, Tione gave Bell many lap pillows, which was quite embarrassing given his view of her assets when he woke up. Nevertheless, Bell's improvements were obvious as he hit Tione quite a few times. With their realistic training, more and more healing potions were needed...

That evening, Bell went to visit Haruhime at her room, but found her sleeping while reading a story book. Being curious, he checked on which story book she was reading, but found that the pages were blank...

\- The Next Morning -

At breakfast, Bell saw an excited Haruhime talking to Freya and Ottar, so he asked why.

Haruhime "Goddess Freya just did an update and I now have a new spell called Kokonoe. It allows me to have multiple tails. Now I can boost multiple people at the same time."

Bell "Wow, this sounds great"

Freya "Bell, this needs to be confidential."

Ottar "Confidentiality is critical for the familia and for Haruhime's safety. It made a difference in the battle against the demi spirits"

Bell "YES!"

After breakfast, Bell went to meet Ais, Tiona and Tione for training again.

Tiona "Ais and Tione were keeping an eye on the crazy wolf who had gone amuck."

Bell "I hope he is ok"

Tiona "Wolvie will be fine. So I will train with you today, Argonaut-kun"

Bell "Thank you Tiona"

Tiona "You will receive many lap pillows today : )", making Bell red.

After lunch, they detected many battles in the city. Instead of training, they went off to check on what was happening. Apparently many barbelas were being attacked by assassins. Tiona and Bell went to helped and saved many of them. They also took the injured ones to the hospital as their wounds would not heal. This kept them busy most of the day and evening, as Loki members were involved in the mission all over the city.

\- The Next Day -

Ais and Tiona met Bell for training in the morning.

Ais "Bell, sorry that I could not train with you. I was involved with Bete's situation."

Tiona "But the apparent war with the assassins is over. Bete destroyed the assassins and the Thanatos familia. He got revenge for our younger members who were killed in the mission."

Ais "It was a huge battle, but Bete literally incinerated all of them including Valleta who was their captain"

Bell "Wow Bete is incredible", making Ais pout...

Ais "But Bete is missing so we are still looking for him"

Bell "I hope he is ok...", making Ais pout some more.

Tiona "We can only train in the morning. We need to help look for the wolf in the afternoon."

After training, Bell went back to the Folkvangr and found that Welf and Lili could go into the dungeon in afternoons. Apparently their training was only in the mornings as Freya and Ottar had to focus on Haruhime's training.

That evening, Bell discussed what happened with Freya and Ottar.

Freya "Yes Bete defeated all of them by himself"

Ottar "We will soon have to go back into the Knossos to finish the job"

Bell "When will that start?"

Freya "Loki wanted to start in 5 days, but a war is brewing with Rakia..."

Ottar "There could be a war, but a stupid war that would be very one-sided in our favor"

Freya "If war comes, our familia will be taking part in it"

\- By the End of the Week -

Bell's stats climbed a lot during the week with the training and saving the barbelas. By the end of the week, he was ready to level with his stats beyond s level.

strength: 1125

endurance: 1238

agility: 1206

dexterity: 1137

magic: 1341

skill: argonaut

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance


	40. Chapter 40

**The March**

With all stats beyond s level, Bell elected to level to level 4. Afterwards, Freya gave him several meaningful kisses on both cheeks, making Bell feel very stimulated.

Freya "Little one, you earned a new skill and a new development ability. The skill is ox slayer, probably from your battle with the heavenly cow demi spirits. The ability is escape, probably from you running away from the demi spirits..."

Bell "Wow, thank you goddess!", which earned him another kiss on the cheek...

The historic level up to level 4 made many angry in Orario. Lefiya refused to come out of her room, even for Ais. Bete ran amok again but this time went to the dungeon to take out his frustrations. Many adventurers, who were still in disbelief about his level 3, were in mourning yet again. Even those in his familia were frustrated as they knew they could never compete in Freya's eyes. Rumors were rampant about what happened in Freya's chambers... Freya took it all in stride, and planned to tease the other gods about it at the next Denatus.

Bell did have a private celebration with Lili, Welf and Haruhime at the hostess. Besides Bell's level up, Welf also reached level 2, so there was much to celebrate. Syr and Ryuu joined them in the party, and Welf got so drunk that he had to be carried back. As he was being carried back, Welf made comments about winning Hephaestus over...

\- The Next Morning -

Bell wanted to get as much training in before the war with Rakia starts in earnest. Ais, Tione and Tiona were all training with Bell for the morning. Their standard begging were tried again but Bell was still unable to tell them how to improve faster. After more asset-based begging, Ais got angry again bashing the twins...

With Bell's level up, the battle became yet even more realistic. After receiving a few lap pillows, Bell finally earned a knock-out of Ais, and gave her a lap pillow. The twins were shocked that a new level 4 managed to actually defeat a level 6, even if it was a lucky strike.

Ais woke up on Bell's lap "Oh Bell, you managed to defeat me for the 1st time"

Tiona teased "Ais, you are getting too easy for Bell"

Ais gave Bell meaningful look and then pouted "You are going to surpass me Bell-kun"

Bell was embarrassed by the complement "Ais, I just got lucky"

Ais looked needy "Are you going to be my hero?"

Tomato red Bell "But you are stronger than me. Of course I would want to be your hero if I can be strong enough", making Ais blush deeply...

For the rest of the morning though, Bell did not earn any more knock-outs but the sisters continue to have their contest about Bell lap pillows...

After lunch, Bell, Lili, Welf went into the dungeon with Mikoto, Ouka and Chigusa. They reached the 13th floor but returned to the surface for dinner.

That night, Freya made an announcement at dinner.

Freya "Mars and Rakia have started an attack on Orario. The fool still has not learned his lesson. So we will have to put a hold on the Knossos and march to the battlefield tomorrow morning. We are responsible for the northern front of the battle, while the Loki familia has the responsibility for the middle, and the southern front will be manned by the Hermes and Hephaestus familia."

Ottar to Bell "You, Welf and Ais will be together at the border between the north and the center fronts.", making Bell excited as he will be in a camp with Ais...

That night, Freya gave Bell a last update before the march to war.

level 4

strength: 27

endurance: 23

agility: 31

dexterity: 22

magic: 23

skill: argonaut, ox slayer

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape


	41. Chapter 41

**Boredom**

\- The Next Morning -

The Freya familia marched off to war with a group 50 strong. They took their positions in the northern sector, while Bell, Welf and another level 1 went towards the Loki familia sector to meet up with Ais and a level 2.

They could see the Rakia army amassing in the distance, so Ais took off in ariel to scare them away. That tactic worked really well. With the Rakian army scattering and running from the Sword Princess, Bell fired off a firebolt that hit and destroyed the enemy flag. For a good show, Ais chased them for a bit so the enemy ran for their life.

After that, no enemy dared showed up for the rest of the morning. They did have a nice lunch when Bell took a wild deer. During the deer hunt, they saw a couple rabbits, and everyone gave Bell a mischievous smile...

\- In the Afternoon -

They got so bored that Bell and Ais sparred to train, while Welf and the others took turns keeping watch. For dinner, they had more of the venison while Bell and Welf went off to find some wild vegetables and fruits based on Bell's knowledge of farming and surviving in the wild.

That evening, a few enemy soldiers tried do a sneak attack, but were quickly dealt with by Bell and Ais. With 5 enemy soldiers tied up, they went back to their dinner before Orario units came to pick up the captives.

\- During the Night Watch -

Bell and Ais had the first watch. With everyone sleeping, they got the chance to have some private time. Kissing felt good and kind of naughty with everyone around. In fact, with enemy soldiers possibly nearby, it increased the excitement for the 2 young adventurers. The steamy action continued during their watch until Welf woke up and teased them badly. After Welf was punished, Ais hugged her teddy bear to go to sleep.

However, no enemy showed up during the night watch.

\- The Next Morning -

A very large group of enemy soldiers showed up. This time there appeared to be an experienced soldier pushing them forward. Bell and Ais led the attack, with Ais again using ariel to scare off as many as possible. There was no point to hurt anyone.

With ariel, many soldiers started to run away, but the leader started threatening them with death for abandoning their post. Seeing the problem, Ais headed over to the leader who was shaking with fear when he saw Ais. When Ais launched a warning shot with ariel, the leader literally wet his pants and could not stand the pressure any more. That led to another rout though this time with over 200 soldiers surrendering to Bell and Ais. They almost ran out of rope to tie up the captives, but they settled for tying the soldiers hands to each other. Fortunately, Orario units soon came to pick up the large number of captives.

With the massive defeat, there were no more Rakian units for the rest of the day. Then Freya and Ottar came to check on them during dinner time, and were amazed with the feast that was cooking from the venison as well as some ducks that were shot down by Bell. With firebolt, cooking birds was very convenient as the fire and explosion mostly feathered the birds.

Before leaving, Freya gave Bell a quick update. It was the least progress Freya had ever seen with Bell.

That night, there was no trouble during the night watch.

level 4

strength: 31

endurance: 25

agility: 36

dexterity: 24

magic: 26

skill: argonaut, ox slayer

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape

\- The Next Morning -

There soon was another rout in another portion of the battlefield. Fortunately, Asfi had captured Mars so the war was quickly over. It was a short camping trip that wasted a lot of training time but little else...

After they returned to Orario, Ais had to return to the Twilight Manor to be in the Knossos planning. So Bell and Welf found Lili to go to the dungeon. They were fortunate that Mikoto, Ouka and Chigusa were also free. With Bell being level 4 traveling with 3 level 2 and 2 level 1, they were able to quickly reach the mid-levels. There were some minos, silverbacks, almirajs and otherwise not much resistance. So they were able to get to Rivira for lunch.

After lunch, some adventurers came to them asking for help as there were problems with firebirds on the 19th floor. Wanting to be helpful, Bell and friends went with the adventurers to the 19th floor...


	42. Chapter 42

**The Girl**

After some convincing by a few adventurers in the form of a reward, Bell, Welf, Lili, Mikoto, Ouka, Chigusa agreed to assist those adventurers with some firebirds. They followed the adventurers to the 19th floor and did see a lot of firebirds that were causing trouble. Bell started to attack the monsters using firebolt, and chased them for a good distance.

Eventually, Bell was lost. As he circled around, he noticed someone off to the side. Bell eventually found what may be a Vouivre sitting on the ground. He was not sure though because vouivres had a snake lower half but the girl had 2 legs. At first, he did not want to interact with monster, but the girl started crying when a firebird attacked. With no choice, Bell saved her, treated her wounds with a potion, and even covered her with the salamander wool.

When several adventurers went by looking for a rare monster, he told them that she was a comrade. Ultimately, Bell took the girl back to the 18th floor. There, he found his party and had them follow him to a secluded area to introduce them to the girl. His party members freaked out when they realized the girl was a vouivre. Lili angrily accused Bell of having a Monster Fetish, which Bell denied. Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, the girl spoke. Afterwards, Bell wanted to take the girl back to the surface, but Lili argued against it. Finally Lili relented but advised Bell to take the girl to the surface at night when there are less people outside.

After sneaking the girl to the surface, Bell, Lili and Welf headed towards the Folkvangr after saying good night to their Take member friends. When they got near home, they did not know what to do. Lili thought some more and suggested Bell to show the girl to the goddess outside the Folkvangr. Thus, Lili and Welf stayed with the girl while Bell went to talk to the goddess and Ottar. Fortunately, it was late so many members were already in their rooms. So Bell knocked on the doors of Freya's chamber. Freya was happy to invite Bell inside but instantly realized that Bell was troubled.

Freya "Little one, what is wrong?"

Bell "Goddess, I have a favor to ask of you?"

Freya "Really, you have never asked for one before"

Bell "I would like you and Lord Ottar to meet someone outside"

Freya "Such an interesting request. Sure, let's go get Ottar"

After going to Ottar's room, the 3 of them headed outside. Bell then took them to a secluded area in a small park near the Folkvangr. It was quite dark except for the lantern they had with them. Soon, Freya and Ottar saw the girl with Welf and Lili.

Freya "What is this? I have to say I am surprised"

Lili "Goddess Freya, I hope you are not angry"

Bell "Goddess, I found her crying and hurt. So I helped her and brought her here for safety."

Ottar "I have never seen anything like this"

Freya "I am not angry, little ones. I must admit I do not know quite what to do"

Thinking for a while, Freya decided to take the girl to their training facility. They could cordon off an area for the girl while they decided what to do. The group then headed to the training facility, and put the girl into a spare room. Bell and Lili also came up with a name for the girl - Wiene.

Freya "Little one, you can sleep in this facility for now, but we need to gather some information about this. I have never heard of talking monsters before"

Ottar "Welf and Lili, you can stay here with Bell also. Make sure this is completely confidential between us. Do not even talk to familia members about this until I approve it."

Welf and Lili "Understood sir!"

That night, Bell, Lili and Welf camped out in the training facility. They decided that they they would also try to gather information on intelligent monsters the next day.

\- At Ouranos' Chamber -

At the same time, Fels reported to Ouranos that an intelligent monster was taken out of the dungeon by the Freya familia. Shocked, Ouranos asked who did it. When Fels answered it was the record holder, he gave Ouranos hope that there could be a chance for the monsters.

\- In Freya's Chamber -

Freya and Ottar discussed the strange situation.

Freya "Ottar, there has never been any mention of talking monsters. "

Ottar "The closest situation is monsters eating magic stones to get stronger. There are the black monsters. Never talking intelligent monsters"

Ottar "We need to find a resolution for this. This is an incredibly dangerous situation. Enemies will use this against us if they found out."

Freya "I believe there is nothing I would not do for the little one, especially when he asked so nicely ..."

Ottar "Yes, I see that"

Freya "Are you jealous, Ottar"

Ottar "No my lady. I will support you as always"

Freya "Thank you Ottar"


	43. Chapter 43

**\- A Solution -**

\- The Next Morning -

Welf stayed with Wiene at the training facility while Lili went to Orario to investigate and Bell maintained normalcy by training with Ais and the twins.

Freya also went to investigate herself by going directly to Ouranos.

\- In a Shady Pub -

Lili has experience in dealing with shady people in these shady places. So Lili used cinder ella to impersonate a young elf girl and proceeded to start asking questions. After leaving a very large tip, she asked the master if he had any information on talking monsters. Although the master had no useful information, a Chienthrope sat next to her and offered some information for money. After paying her, Lulune revealed that certain adventurers were very interested in talking monsters. After Lili tried to dig deeper about who those adventurers were, Lulune got suspicious. So Lili quickly left and went into a crowd before dropping her cloak and changing her appearance to a male dwarf.

\- At the City Wall -

Bell met with Ais and the twins and the training was on. Bell managed to knock Ais out one more time during the morning while Ais got Bell herself several times.

Tiona teased "Ais, you are really falling for the argonaut"

Tione teased "Ais is getting to be really easy"

Ais pouted "Bell, you need to know take out Tiona and Tione also. Not just me"

Bell got nervous "I am trying as hard as I can. I only got lucky against you.

Tiona laughed "Yes, argonaut gets lucky with Ais often lol lol lol"

That was it for Ais, as she chased Tiona and beat her up.

During lunch, Bell wanted to find out what Ais felt about monsters.

Bell "Ais-san, are all monsters bad?"

Ais "Yes, I must kill all monsters."

Bell "What if a monster is kind?"

Ais confused "There are no kind monsters. They must all be eliminated!"

Deciding this was a dead-end, Bell let the topic drop. After lunch, he went back to the training facility to check on Welf and Wiene.

\- At the Guild -

Freya went towards Ouranos' chamber but several guards tried to stop her. Smiling at them, the guard immediately dropped their guard with silly smiles on their faces. As she walked into Ouranos' chambers, a deep voice called out to Freya.

Ouranos "It has been a long time Freya. What is the reason for the visit?"

Freya "Ouranos, do talking intelligent monsters exist?"

Ouranos "So the record holder brought the monster to you?"

Freya was not surprised "Yes he did. How long have these intelligent monsters existed?"

Ouranos "Even I am not sure myself, but at least for the last 15 years"

Freya "How many are there?"

Ouranos "They are known as Xenos. As far as I know, there are more than 20 but less than 100."

Freya "Are they powerful?"

Ouranos "At least 3 can rival first class adventurers. One may be similar to Ottar actually"

Freya "Are they dangerous?"

Ourano "I believe they want to co-exist in peace, but some are very jaded."

Freya "What should I do with the one that my child brought to the surface?"

Ouranos "That one is harmless and in fact defenseless. However, Orario is not ready to accept intelligent monsters. I believe that one should return to the dungeon to be with its kind"

Freya "Why have you not told us about the Xenos"

Ouranos "Because some have been trying to hunt them down. Hermes and Ganesha are aware of them. I have been in touch with the Xenos through intermediaries. I am trying to help them"

Freya "Would I have your assistance to get the Xenos back into the dungeon?"

Ouranos "Yes, would I have your support in the future when I try to bring the Xenos topic public?"

Freya "Yes, as long as they are not dangerous."

With that, Freya went back to the Folkvangr to discuss with Ottar.

\- At the Training Facility -

While Welf watched over Wiene, Haruhime accidentally stumbled into their area despite their best precautions. Haruhime and Wiene took an immediate liking to each other, and they started to play together. Knowing that they messed up, Welf realized it was too late to do much about it.

\- An Hour Later -

Freya and Ottar went to the training facility and saw Haruhime and Wiene playing together.

Welf "Goddess Freya, I apologize for my failure to keep the room secure."

Freya "That is fine. It is good that they are playing together"

After a short time, Bell returned to the facility as the group was eating lunch. Bell was surprised to see Haruhime there with Wiene, but was glad they were having fun together. As Haruhime and Wiene were playing, Freya and Ottar had a talk with Bell, Lili and Welf.

Freya "I did some investigation and found out that Ouranos knows about intelligent talking monsters known as Xenos. There are many of them, numbering somewhere between 20 to 100."

Freya "Little one, Ouranos does not believe it is safe for Wiene to remain here as the surface world is not ready to accept Wiene and those like her"

Bell "That is not fair"

Freya "Well, Wiene can stay here for now. But it is like a jail for her. She cannot leave this facility for her good and our good."

Bell "Thank you goddess"

Freya "Bell, think about this. It may be better for Wiene for her to return to the dungeon."

Bell pouted "But she cannot protect herself", which broke Freya's heart...

Freya "I will look into this. Ouranos promised he will help"

Suddenly Ottar said calmly "You should show yourself now"

Bell "?"

Suddenly, Fels showed himself in his black robe, shocking Bell, Welf and Lili.

Fels "Of course the Warlord would be able to detect my presence. I have a message from Ouranos"

Freya "Go ahead and tell us. They can all hear the message"

Fels "Ouranos said that he can arrange safe passage for the Xenos you call Wiene tomorrow late in the evening. If you want to take advantage of this offer, let us know soon"

Bell "But Wiene is defenseless in the dungeon"

Fels "There are others like her that would take care of her. We have contacted them already"

Bell "..."

Freya "Please give this message to Ouranos. We appreciate the offer, but we want a few days to think it over"

Fels "I understand." then fades out.

Freya "Little one, spend the next few days to think it over. But it would be too dangerous for Wiene to go outside"

Bell bowed "Thank you goddess", which earned him a small kiss on the cheek.

Freya wanted Wiene to be guarded, but could only post guards outside due to the sensitive nature of the situation. To offer extra protection, Welf, Lili and Haruhime would stay the first night, while Bell would stay the second night. They would have to rotate like that as long as Wiene is staying there.

That evening, Bell, Freya and Ottar returned to the Folkvangr, while Welf, Lili and Haruhime stayed with Wiene.

Before bed, Bell received an update:

level 4

strength: 62

endurance: 55

agility: 68

dexterity: 49

magic: 48

skill: argonaut, ox slayer

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape

\- The Next Day -

They tried to maintain what normalcy they could. Bell had training with Ais and the twins in the morning. Haruhime had her training with Ottar in the morning. Welf continued to practice his magic and fighting technique himself, while Lili went to the Folkvangr for strategic training.

When Bell returned, Freya and Ottar went to meet with Loki for the upcoming Knossos mission. It was agreed that the mission would start in 3 days, with the combined forces of Loki, Freya, Hermes and Hephaestus familias while the Ganesha familia was the reserve.

\- That Night -

It was Bell's turn to stay with Wiene. In the middle of the night, Bell was awaken by fighting and screams outside...


	44. Chapter 44

**Surprise**

\- Inside the Training Facility -

Bell was awoken by the fighting outside. The screams were appeared to be from the guards, so the attackers must not be weak. He quickly woke up Wiene and told her to be quiet. They then went to a upstairs location with a good view on the stairs.

Soon, about 8 intruder stormed into the facility. As he watched their search, he tried to figure out who the leader was. As he watched, white particles were gathering around Bell. When the intruders finished searching downstairs and headed up the stairs, Bell launched a 3 minute charge argonaut firebolt at the likely leader in the group. The firebolt explosion was enormous, blowing a huge hole in the building.

As the dust cleared, the stairs were destroyed and several intruders were lying on the ground. The ones that were still upright ran for their lives.

Even though the enemy seemed to have left, Bell did not dare move from their high ground. As he waited, he kept ready while Wiene fell back asleep.

About 15 minutes later, Freya and Ottar entered the building. Bell was so relieved to see them.

Freya smiled "Little one, the damage is going to take a while to fix"

Bell bowed "Goddess, I am sorry"

Freya smiled "I was teasing you. It is good that your cannon did the damage you did"

Ottar "Ikelos familia. I think they transport goods."

Ottar "They are all dead. This one's name is Gran, a level 4. I think he is their 2nd in command.", leaving Bell visibly shook that he killed several people.

Freya noticed Bell's emotions "Little one, you had to protect yourself and Wiene. You had no choice", and added a small kiss on the cheek to make Bell feel better but Wiene was jealous.

After feeling a little better, Bell "What about the guards outside?"

Ottar "We have others taking care of them. They were injured but will recover", making Bell feel a bit more relieved.

Freya "Little one, we have no choice. We need to take Wiene to Folkvangr for now"

Bell "But what if others find out"

Freya "We will worry about that later. I am not going to leave you or other children exposed in this remote location. I believe Ikelos familia has multiple level 4 and a level 5"

Thus Bell carried the sleeping Wiene back with Freya and Ottar. They put her in a remote room, and Bell stayed with her all night. The room door was blocked from the inside and the outside so Wiene would not mistakenly get outside. Ottar also posted guards at the 2 ends of the hallway with the guards told to stop anyone who enters except for Bell, Freya and Ottar.

\- The Next Morning -

Freya and Ottar checked on Bell and Wiene. Bell had something to tell Freya.

Bell "Goddess, I am sorry I troubled you for my own feelings. I now understand that Wiene must return to the dungeon", making Wiene cry.

Freya "Bell, that is fine. I will contact Ouranos"

Ottar "With the Knossos operation upcoming, we must return from the dungeon as soon as possible."

Freya "I will go to the guild to make the arrangements"

Bell nodded "I will go tell Ais that I cannot go to training today or tomorrow."

\- Later in the Morning -

Freya and Ottar returned to the Folkvangr after going to the guild. Bell was already there after having told Ais and the twins that he needed to attend to the damage at their training facility.

Freya "Little one, you, Welf, Lili and Haruhime will take Wiene to the dungeon at midnight. Ottar will be going with you. I got a Hades Hat for Wiene to wear but you must tie her to one of you so we do not lose her by mistake."

With everyone staying at the Folkvangr until the mission, Ottar and Bell sparred for a few hours, with Freya giving Bell many embarrassing lap pillows.

After training, Freya gave Bell a final update.

level 4

strength: 138

endurance: 129

agility: 150

dexterity: 116

magic: 163

skill: argonaut, ox slayer

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape

\- That Night -

After the update, everyone took a long nap to save energy for the late night mission.

At midnight, Bell and his group went to the dungeon, but they were not aware that a couple spies were following them from a long distance away. Wiene was invisible with the Hades Hat, but the spies immediately realized they were up to something going to the dungeon at midnight...


	45. Chapter 45

**Being a Burden**

Bell, Ottar and their group brought the invisible Wiene into the dungeon. With Bell as the vanguard and Ottar protecting Wiene and Haruhime, they quickly reached the mid-levels. At that point, Ottar became the vanguard to save time with Bell protecting Wiene and Haruhime. Thus, they reached the 18th floor in less than 4 hours.

After a short break on the 18th floor, they headed for the 20th floor following a map from Fels. There were a lot of monsters today, but level 2 monsters had no chance against Ottar. Even a large horde of them. They soon reached the location on the map, which was on a far off secluded location on the floor. Hearing some singing, they found a hidden passageway. Following the passageway, they found a room with a spring. Still following the singing and noise, they found a large cavern. Suddenly, they were attacked by many monsters.

None of the monsters had a chance against Ottar, and soon they learned to stay away from Ottar. However, a tough red lizardman attacked Bell, who was shielding Haruhime and the invisible Wiene. With all the attacks, the Hades Hat fell off. At that point, the monsters seem to focus on attacking Bell and the now-visible Wiene. Trying to protect Wiene, Bell used a 3 second charge punch that slammed the lizardman against the wall.

Looking at the lizardman flatten on the wall, the monsters all laughed and started to talk in human language. They thanked Bell for protecting Wiene, and were genuinely surprised to see such action by a human. They shook Bell's hand but all were scared of Ottar because they realized how incredibly strong he was. The lizardman introduced himself as Lyd, and the Harpy was introduced as Ray. However, Gros the gargoyle was not so friendly.

The Xenos threw a party for the Freya members and Wiene, despite it being the early morning hours. After the feast, it was time to return to the surface due to the Knossos situation. Wiene was very sad and cling to Haruhime and Bell. However, the Xenos told Wiene that it is not safe for her in the surface world and she also would be a huge burden to Bell and the Freya familia. Deciding to protect Bell and her friends, she agreed to stay, but only if Bell, Haruhime, Welf and Lili would visit her regularly. After the agreement was made, the group headed back up to the surface even though they were exhausted.

By the time they got out of the dungeon, it was morning. Fortunately, Bell cancelled training with Ais for the day, so he was able to go home to sleep.

However, the two spies appeared to have followed them back to the surface...

\- That Evening -

The sirens sounded at the Babel and all over the city. Apparently Rivira had been attacked and destroyed by monsters. The dungeon has been closed off. All familias were ordered to await orders from the Guild. The Ganesha familia was put in charge of guarding the dungeon entrance. No one would be allowed to go inside the dungeon.

As a precaution, Freya gave Bell an update showing a small improvement from the trip:

level 4

strength: 141

endurance: 130

agility: 155

dexterity: 119

magic: 168

skill: argonaut, ox slayer

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape


	46. Chapter 46

**Big Mess**

\- At the Folkvangr -

Freya, Ottar and Bell were in her chambers discussing the emergency when Fels appeared.

Fels "Rivira was attacked by the Xenos. This happened soon after the Ikelos familia attacked one of their hidden villages. Apparently a lot of Xenos were killed or captured.

Fels "Ouranos is sending the Ganesha familia to retake Rivira, but Bell may be able to help if he went with them"

Freya "I would allow it if Ottar goes along"

Fels "There is no way Ottar will not be recognized"

Freya "We will get a Hades Hat for Ottar"

Fels "The Ganesha familia is getting ready, and plans to head down to Rivira in 2 hours"

With that, Ottar, Fels and Bell headed to the Hermes home. Not wanting to cause a big rumor at the Hermes familia, Fels would be the only one going inside to borrow a Hades Hat.

After Fels reappeared with the item, Ottar used the Hades Hat to become invisible. They then went to get Bell a Ganesha familia 'uniform' before heading to the Babel.

\- At the Twilight Manor -

The Loki executives were frustrated with the instructions from the guild to patrol and guard the city, which seems to be away from the real action in the dungeon. Bete was particularly angry while Ais looked out the window wondering how her boyfriend was doing.

Finn tried to figure out why only the Ganesha familia would be going to retake Rivira. With the only plausible reason being that Ouranos were trying to keep them from something. Finn further concluded that it may be a matter of trust. There was something Ouranos trusted Ganesha with that he did not trust them with...

\- At the Hostess -

Aisha went to talk to Ryuu about the situation. After finding out that Evilus may be involved, Ryuu agreed to join a small group to infiltrate the dungeon.

\- At the Babel -

Shakti was having trouble keeping her familia members calm after they received the order. They were to try to tame the monsters at Rivira instead of killing them, making their job nearly impossible.

\- Two Hours Later -

Having all the necessary material for the mission, the Ganesha familia members headed into the dungeon. That included Bell, who was dressed as a supporter, as well as the invisible Ottar who kept a reasonable distance from Bell.

What they did not realize Asfi, Aisha and Ryuu were also following them.

\- Near Rivira

A few hours later, the Ganesha familia group reached the 18th floor. As they approached the destroyed Rivira, they saw a number of armed monsters heading towards them.

As the raging group of monsters attacked, the Ganesha members were trying to tame them. Bell was also fighting when Asfi, Aisha and Ryuu joined in the battle to turn the tide.

When Bell's hooded cloak was ripped away, Lyd immediately noticed him and grabbed him to take him away from the battle.

Lyd "What are you doing here?"

Bell "I am part of the group sent here to keep the peace and reoccupy Rivira."

Lyd "It is not your problem and you should go back to the surface"

Bell "What happened that caused the attack?"

Lyd then explained that the Ikelos familia massacred one of their villages. They crucified a few Xenos and took Wiene and several others hostage. That got Bell really angry and he told Lyd there is no way he would allow Wiene to be taken. Lyd said to leave it to them as he cannot always be in the dungeon. At that point, a Ganesha member tried to tame Lyd, who jumped away and left.

At a nearby location, Fels was trying to reason with Gros, who was furious and told Fels to take the Ganesha members away. Gros then flew away leaving the other Xenos to keep the Ganesha members busy.

As Bell tried to follow Lyd, he ran into Fels who was trying to figure out the location where Gros was heading. As they headed towards the eastern part of the floor, they saw a group of Xenos going towards the dungeon wall. So they also headed there quickly. After some searching, they found an orichalcum door. Fels though had a key so they were able to enter.

Once inside, they heard a lot of noise ahead of them so they followed the passageway. As they entered a large room, they saw a large number of destroyed cages. So they figured the Xenos just were at the room freeing their members. As they walked into the large room, they saw a group of Xenos surrounded by a large group of people. Dix, the head of the Ikelos familia, saw Bell and Fels and realized they were discovered. Dix immediately used his curse Phobetor Daedalus on the group of Xenos near him. Recognizing that Dix was using a curse, Fels protected Bell from it. However, the curse caused the Xenos to lose their control. Dix apparently had the Xenos attack to kill Bell, Fels and each other...


	47. Chapter 47

**\- Madness -**

Seeing that he was discover, Dix used his curse Phobetor Daedalus on the group of Xenos to force them to attack Bell and Fels. As the Xenos went crazy, Ottar suddenly revealed himself in front of Bell and Fels. Single-handedly, Ottar held off the the Xenos without seriously injuring any of them. Seeing the level 7 Ottar, Dix ran in fear into the next room, with Bell and Fels chasing after him knowing that they need to defeat him to release the curse.

With Bell and Fels chasing Dix, some of the Xenos chased after them. However, Fels was able to hold off those Xenos to allow Bell to deal with Dix. As Bell chased down Dix, they started to fight. Even though Dix was a level 5, Bell was actually pushing him back. As they continue to run and fight, Bell saw that they had enter a room where Wiene was held. Really angry, Bell use a 5 second charge argonaut punch against Dix, which caused the curse to be released. The impact of the punch did a lot of damage. However, what Bell did not realized was that Dix had to release the curse to regain his level 5 status in order to better absorb the damage.

Desperate, Dix removed Wiene's red stone on her forehead, forcing Wiene to take her original form. Confused, Wiene started to attack Bell, but suddenly realized who Bell was even as a monster and started to calm down. Seeing that his trick was not working, Dix used his curse to send Wiene flying up the Knossos chasing what she thought was Bell.

Dix "Better go chase your friend. She is not going to survive on the surface with that form." then threw the red stone down another path.

Bell had no choice but chase Wiene up the stairs towards the surface. The Xenos, who were released from the curse, saw what happened with Wiene so they also followed Bell up the stairs to assist. Fels first went after the red stone and then also headed up the stairs. Ottar seemed to have disappeared...

Seeing that his trick worked, Dix escaped using another hallway, but was cut in half by a large black minotaur Xenos...

\- In the Daedalius Street Area -

After some time, Wiene in the vouvire form stormed out of a Knossos entrance area. Shortly after, Bell, other Xenos and Fels followed.

Members of the Loki familia who were patrolling the area immediately engaged Wiene. As they were going to attack her, Bell intervened.

Bell "Stop, that is my kill"

Shocked Loki member "What? Are you serious?"

As the Loki members continued to attack Wiene, Bell stopped them with firebolt. That brought time for Wiene to get away with Bell following. Instantly the Loki members were furious and reported to Finn. Residents of the Daedalius area were also shocked with Bell's behavior. However, they then became preoccupied by the large number of Xenos who came spilling out of the entrance area.

As the Loki members fought with the Xenos, the Loki executives were arriving on the scene. With the arrival of the amazon twins, Lyd and Gros were having a tough time. But then the black minotaur arrived and proceeded to use its howl to knocked back most adventurers. By then Gareth also arrived, but he was also unable to contain the minotaur Xenos. That allowed the other Xenos to run off. At that point, the combined efforts of the Loki executives were starting to push back the minotaur, but then it took out a magic sword. Even after Bete absorb much of the electricity attack, the Loki executives were temporarily unable to fight. Suddenly Ais did a surprise attack on the minotaur and cut off its arm. However, even without one arm, the minotaur was able to overpower Ais. When Finn and Gareth jumped in to help, a smoke screen and a supersonic attack by Ray brought time for the Xenos including the minotaur to escape.

A short while after, the Loki familia regrouped to discuss their next steps. They wanted to go inside the Knossos, but Freya had the key. Meanwhile the citizens were furious with Bell who helped the Xenos.

\- The Next Morning -

Things have stabilized a bit as the Xenos stayed out of sight. The Xenos themselves were hiding in several areas in the city, mostly in abandoned buildings in the Daedalius area.

Bell's reputation though was ruined by the incident that destroyed a section of the Daedalius area, and the citizens saw with their own eyes that Bell protected the Xenos from the Loki familia.

Each of the main players were analyzing and deciding their next moves.

\- At the guild -

The guild blamed the event all on Ikelos familia, which was already destroyed in the incident. Eina was devastated when she heard about what Bell did, and she refused to believe it until she talks to Bell...

However, the Xenos were still stuck in the surface world. Ouranos and Fels were trying to figure out a way to get the Xenos back into the dungeon without being caught by the Loki familia. Fels was in touch with most of the Xenos groups, except Asterius the minotaur was at some unknown location by himself.

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Finn, Riveria and Gareth were busy coordinating multiple teams which were combing the city for any sign of the monsters. They also station personnel at the dungeon entrance and the Daedalius area where the Xenos came out of.

Knowing that Bell was involved, they suspected the Freya familia would be backing him. The problem is that Freya had the only key to get in the Knossos.

At the same time, they made the logical connection behind the guild's actions and the invading monsters. What they could not understand is why anyone would protect the monsters. But it seemed the guild, Ganesha familia and the Freya familia were all colluding on the matter.

Ais was horrified by the news that her boyfriend helped the monsters, and she could not understand how that could be possible. She wanted to talk to him, but was forbidden to do so.

\- At the Hermes Home -

Hermes was visibly scheming while Asfi worried. Hermes was certainly not going to allow some talking monsters to affect the reputation of the hero who will move the age...

\- At the Folkvangr -

Freya was also notified of Bell's reputation taking a big hit, and she was not about to allow that. As a start, until further notice, Bell was not allowed to leave Folkvangr without Freya accompanying him. Such an order was highly unusual, particularly with Freya who avoids the public as much as she does. Fortunately, Ottar was able to procure 3 Hades Hats...

In the meantime, Ottar was gathering intelligence from their spies around the city, roughly learning where the Xenos were hiding. They were also in touch with Fels, who was able to communicate with some of the Xenos.

The plan was to allow the Xenos to lay low for a few days so that the Loki familia would be less vigilant. When the time comes, they would then sneak the Xenos back to the dungeon or the Knossos...


	48. Chapter 48

**\- Chess Board -**

The stalemate continued for a few days.

The Xenos stayed hidden, waiting for opportunities to escape.

The Loki familia patrolled and searched. Freya had the only key to the Knossos they were aware of. Thus their patrols served two purposes as the enhanced monster mess and the Evilus - Knossos situation seemed to have merged. For one, continued patrols will keep the monsters under surveillance, while the patrols would put pressure on whatever was going on inside the Knossos between Evilus, the enhanced monsters, Bell and his allies.

The Loki executives already came to realize that Ouranos wants to protect the enhanced monsters and perhaps have them coexist with surface dwellers, which is almost unthinkable. However, if they had to choose which threat to eliminate, Evilus seems to be by far the biggest threat.

Freya, Ouranos and Fels waited. Hermes schemed and schemed while Asfi worried.

Ais thought about Bell and why he would help the monsters.

Bell suffered those cold stares when he was outside with Freya without the Hades Hats.

\- Five Days Later -

Eventually the city returned mostly to normal. However, the main players kept their same strategies.

Finally Hermes figured out where some of the Xenos were and then made a move...

\- At One Xenos Location -

Hermes and Asfi removed their Hades Hats in an abandoned building where Lyd was held up. To the Xenos' surprise, he was not attacking them and just said he wanted to talk.

Hermes "I have your ticket back to safety, but there is something that I want"

Lyd "What is your ticket to safety?"

Hermes "Well, you see how we were able to come here completely undetected?"

Ray "Yes, so how many of those hats do you have?"

Hermes "Not enough but a couple trips would get most of you back to the dungeon"

Lyd "Alright, you have our attention. Now what do you want?"

Hermes smiled "..."...

\- At Another Xenos Location -

Hermes, Asfi and Lyd removed their Hades Hat in another abandoned building where Gros was held up. That shocked Gros and the other Xenos.

Gros "Lyd, who are these people?"

Lyd "They are offering us a deal."...

\- At Folkvangr -

Hermes and Asfi showed up to the shock of the guards inside the Folkvangr. When they were interrogated, Hermes showed his divine aura and said he needed to speak to Freya.

Freya "Hermes, so what is it that you want to discuss?"

Hermes "Well, we have an impasse with the Loki Familia. I am offering a solution that requires your assistance."

Freya "Really, well please tell us about it"

Hermes "We need some privacy", so Hermes, Asfi, Ottar and Freya went to discuss in a private room...

\- At the Guild -

Hermes and Asfi showed up at the door of Ouranos' chambers. Then they heard Ouranos inviting them in without knocking.

Hermes "Well, Ouranos, we have a predicament on our hands, don't we?"

Ouranos "I am sure you are offering a solution"

Hermes smiled "Certainly..." ...

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Gareth, Finn, Riveria and Loki were discussing some the latest situation. With no key to get inside the Knossos, there was only so much they could do...

Gareth "The rumor is that something is going to happen soon"

Finn "How? We are patrolling the entire city, all the known entrances"

Riveria "And just in case, we have extra patrols at the Daedalius area"

Gareth "Well, the word is there is a lot of communications going on at the Guild."

Finn "Well, what else can we do?"

Loki "I would suggest you go to all the locations and see it with your own eyes"

Finn "That has merit to it. Alright, we will still focus on the known entrances and Daedalius."

Riveria "The problem is the Ganesha familia, the guild and the Freya familia may all be working together. And Freya has the only key to get in the Knossos..."

Gareth "We do have enough personnel"

Finn "Barely, Raul and I will stay near the Babel, and we will camp there even at night. Tione and Tiona will patrol the areas between the Babel and the Daedalius area."

Finn "Gareth, you and Bete will remain around the known entrance area at Daedalius. Camp there at night so we know that entrance area is secure. Riveria and Lefiya will coordinate the patrol of the overall Daedalius area. Ais should monitor from the top of buildings around Daedalius also."

Gareth "And we do not know where Hermes stand, though I suspect it is not with us."

Finn "And Bell is friends with the Take and Miach familias also. It seems like it is everyone against us."

Loki "What about Hephaestus?"

Finn "My guess is that she is neutral and may be puzzled about what is going on"

Loki "Well, I will talk to PhePhe. We need some allies"...


	49. Chapter 49

**\- Who is Smarter? -**

\- The Next Day at 9am -

Finn's plan was put into action. He was going to apply even more pressure on the enhanced monsters and Evilus in the Knossos.

Finn and Raul led a group to the Babel. The Ganesha members watched but did not interfere as the Loki group sat up camp close to the dungeon entrance.

Tione and Tiona led a second group that patrolled the areas between the Babel and the Daedalius area.

Riveria and Lefiya led another group that was organizing the patrol of the entire Daedalius area. They sat up camp in the portion of the Daedalius area closest to the Babel.

Gareth and Bete led a group to the known entrance area at Daedalius. Onlookers were shocked watching as the Loki members sat up camp in the middle of the busy area.

In the meanwhile, Ais was monitoring while hopping between the top of buildings around Daedalius.

\- At the Hermes Home -

News of the Loki familia deployment quickly reached Hermes' ears, bringing a smile to his face. Putting on their Hades Hat, Hermes and Asfi headed outside their familia home.

\- At the Guild -

Ouranos was notified of the deployment by Fels.

Fels "Apparently Hermes was correct"

Ouranos "So it begins..."

\- At the Folkvangr -

Freya, Ottar, Bell and Lili were also notified of the deployment. Soon, Hermes and Asfi appeared in their meeting room.

Hermes "So our deal is still good?"

Freya "Yes, we can now move forward"

Ottar immediately left the room to handle a matter. Bell and Lili soon also headed out with several Hades Hats.

\- An Hour Later -

Without warning, two gargoyles, a Harpy and a Siren dived down towards the Twilight Manor and started attacking. With barely any staff remaining from Finn's deployment, the remaining defenders were only low-level adventurers who screamed and ran away from the sonic attacks and magic weapon attacks.

The monsters made their presence plenty known by breaking windows, burning Loki banners, and even tying up 5 weak defenders and then hanging them upside down. Loki was furious but had to stay away from all windows while being surrounded by security.

\- At the Babel -

A Loki member screamed "Finn, Twilight Manor is under attack"

Finn "We got outflanked!"

Loki member "The report is several flying monsters. At least 4. Using sonic attacks and magic weapons"

Finn "So the monsters are intelligent or being guided or controlled by Evilus or someone else"

Finn was furious with his strategic mistake, and he unfortunately had no idea how powerful the 4 attackers were. There were rumors that one gargoyle had the power of a 1st level adventurer, and now there were 2 of them.

With his thumb going crazy, Finn immediately sent for help. Unable to reach Riveria's group, he sent a runner to find Ais, who had the best chance to get home the quickest. Messages were also sent to the twins and Gareth.

Finn himself left with most of his group. The enemy went after their white female king and they were totally exposed... As he rushed back towards the Twilight Manor, he left Raul and a couple members to watch the Babel. All this time, the thumb was aching like crazy.

\- With the Amazon Twins -

Finn's message reached Tiona and Tione, and they immediately took the entire group back towards the Twilight Manor.

\- With Riveria and Lefiya -

Finn's people were unable to get hold of Riveria. Apparently, Riveria, Lefiya and a number of elf members were able to secure a key to the Knossos and headed down the labyrinth for a surprise elf squad attack.

\- Gareth and Bete -

With most of the executives and their groups heading back to the Twilight Manor, Gareth stayed at the entrance area while Bete replaced Tiona and Tione on a 'solo' patrol of the Daedalius area.

\- With Ais -

Finn's runner was able to find Ais, and she headed back home at top speed using Ariel.

\- At the Folkvangr -

Hermes and Freya sat in their situation room with a large replica model of Orario on a table. They continued to monitor the situation as reports came in while moving little figures on the Orario city model. Other than Allen and Hogni who provided security, Freya's executives had already been sent to accomplish their various tasks. As they talked, Asfi flew back inside to report.

Asfi "Ais is on her way back to the Twilight Manor. Warned of Ais' approach, the attack group have ended their flanking maneuver. They are now flying southwest to draw their fastest asset further away from the Babel and the Daedalius area. "

After the report, Asfi flew back out the window.

Freya "Are they still falling for it?"

Hermes "They pretty much have no choice now. They have no idea how strong the 4 are. If Loki is taken out, they all lose their power..."

Freya member "Finn's group is about half way back from the Babel. The amazons are a similar distance away. Both groups are still heading back to their home at top speed on the ground."

Freya "Good plan. You tricked the trickster and the Braver."

Hermes smiled "It is easier to defend, especially when you have numbers in your favor"

\- At the Twilight Manor -

With the flying monsters leaving when Ais got closer, the defenders rushed to free the tied up members. Loki was furious but there was nothing she could do with the situation changing rapidly.

\- At the Babel Entrance -

With Raul and a couple others staying on-site, Shakti asked them what happened and offered to help while sharing some food. While talking and eating together, Raul did not notice that the Ganesha members left a significant portion of the entrance unguarded...

\- At the Folkvangr -

Ten minutes later, Asfi came back into the situation room again.

Asfi "Ais gave chase to the 4 flying monsters. While Ais was still at long range, the 3 Xenos used the invisibility trick and should have sharply changed course. Lili still continued to draw Ais closer to her as the 2nd gargoyle before landing in a crowded area near the pharmacy. While the 2nd gargoyle caused a big panic, she was able to quickly changed into an elf and made her escape."

Freya smiled "That cinder ella spell is pretty useful"

Freya member "Ais could not figure out what happened to the 2nd gargoyle, so is headed back to the Twilight Manor now"

\- At the Twilight Manor -

About half an hour after their ordeal began, Finn, the twins and Loki were planning defensive strategies as Ais flew in. Once Ais reported that the flying monsters disappeared into thin air, Loki immediately became very upset.

Angry Loki "%$^%$%&, we have been totally played"

Finn read her mind "OMG, the Babel entrance".

Immediately Finn sent Ais back to check the Babel entrance. At the same time, Tiona and her group headed back towards the Daedalius area. This time, Tione was left to protect Loki.

While running back toward the Babel with his group, Finn "We wanted to flush them out, but instead, they have us running around in circles chasing our own tails"...


	50. Chapter 50

**Confrontation**

\- On the 5th Floor of the dungeon -

Lyd and the 1st group of Xenos were extremely happy to be back in the dungeon. After returning the Hades Hats to Lulune and Fels, they continued to head down the dungeon.

\- At the Babel Entrance -

As Ais approached the Babel entrance, she saw a large gap in the security encirclement formed by the Ganesha members. As she headed towards that gap, a vouivre appeared as it fell down and the Hades Hat came off. With the Ganesha members shocked, the monster was carried towards the entrance by an invisible force.

Ais then chased as fast as she could but she had a bad feeling about what she was going to discover.

Raul and the 2 Loki members also saw the vouvire, but their path to the dungeon entrance was blocked by Shakti and the Ganesha members.

Shakti "We will take care of it, guild's orders"

\- With Finn's Group -

As Finn's group rushed towards the Babel, they heard about a report that a monster was seen being 'carried' by an invisible 'person' into the entrance. Without Ais' speed, they could only run as fast as they could...

Finn hoped "May be we can still catch some of them"

At the same time, Finn was desperately waiting to hear about what happened to Riveria's group with the initial report that her group entered the Knossos.

\- Bete on Solo Patrol -

Hearing the reports of a monster at the Babel, Bete headed towards there.

\- Tiona and her group -

Tiona also received the report of the monster sighting near the Babel, and was converging on the area.

\- Gareth and his Group -

Gareth remained disciplined and stay watching the known Knossos entrance area.

\- With Riveria's Group -

Riveria, Lefiya and the elf squad attacked inside the Knossos. Using their magic enhanced with Riveria's magic circle, the elf squad created havoc in the Knossos. When Revis showed up, Riveria and Lefiya launched twin Wynn Fimbulvetr's at Revis, which she was barely able to escape from with damage to the left side of her body. After dealing with her injury, Revis chased the elves using an alternate route.

Remembering that Ais met a god on the 12th floor, Riveria's group headed for the 12th floor and found an exit passageway to the dungeon there. Riveria then told Lefiya to return to the surface through the dungeon to get help from Finn, and then continued to attack Evilus.

\- At the Folkvangr -

Freya and Hermes continued to monitor the situation. When they heard that Wiene was seen near the Babel, they became worried that Bell would protect her without worrying about the consequences.

Though with Ais also being seen at the Babel, Freya thought "Even if she no longer loves you, I will, little one"

However, deciding that the situation had entered endgame, Freya and Hermes wanted to watch with their own eyes what was going to transpire. With Allen, Hogni, Asfi and a large group of lower level members, they headed for the Babel.

\- At the Twilight Manor -

With the reports of the monster sighting, Loki also decided to watch with her own eyes. Thus Tione and a large group of lower level members provided security as Loki headed towards the Babel.

\- On the First Floor of the Dungeon -

As Ais chased after the vouvire, someone suddenly stood in her way...


	51. Chapter 51

**\- A Fight -**

As Ais chased the vouvire into the 1st floor of the dungeon, someone suddenly blocked her way.

It was Bell, who had just removed his Hades Hat.

Determined to kill the monster, Ais tried to go around Bell, but he got in her way again.

Bell "Wiene, run!"

Bell continue to block Ais' way "Ais, please listen. She is not a normal monster. She is kind and intelligent"

Ais refused to listen to Bell, and try to get around him again.

As if they were sparring, their weapons clashed. Neither wanted to injure the other, but neither would give an inch.

Bell "Ais, please listen to me!"

Bell "It is important. Wiene is not a monster as you know it"

Ais still refuse to talk or listen to Bell. And she just could not understand why Bell was trying so hard to protect a monster. As they continued to sort-of fight, Ais was furious about Bell defending the monster.

Finally she had to ask in anger "Why are you defending a monster? How could you do such a thing?"

Yet when Bell tried to tell her Wiene is intelligent and kind, Ais refused to listen. And when he said he wished for a world where Wiene and other Xenos could be safe in, she thought he went crazy.

Ais got more serious and gave Bell a real beating after a while...

Ais "I am going to fight for real now, so stop trying to stop me. It will hurt if I cut you"

At that point, Wiene came rushing there and put herself in front of Bell with her arms extended to protect Bell, which shocked Ais.

Wiene "Please do not hurt Bell. Cut me and don't cut Bell!"

Ais was even more shocked when Wiene spoke and also tried to protect Bell. How could a monster try to protect a human.

Ais "This is a trick. No monster will protect a human."

Wiene "This is no trick."

Ais "Monsters cause fear and pain. Monsters have claws that injured people."

Wiene decided to show Ais how serious she was. She destroyed her sharp claws and ripped her wing off. Wiene then begged Ais not to hurt Bell, and told Ais the story of her past before removing her red stone.

Wiene's words made Ais think of her past and how similar she and Wiene was. The only difference between them was that Wiene had a hero clearly protecting her. That ultimately broke Ais' resolve. Ais then told them she could not fight them any more. Her vow to kill monsters had collapsed.

Ais was crying "You are supposed to be my hero and protect me, but now you protect a monster. And got me all messed up ..."

Bell then went to hug her "I want to be your hero. I will protect you to the best that I can with every drop of my energy. But I also want to protect the innocent. Ais, look at what is inside Wiene, not what is outside", giving Ais a kiss.

Liking the embrace and the kiss, but confused about everything, Ais told Bell that she needed some time to think. She turned around after giving him her healing potion, which Bell and Wiene shared.

As Ais went outside the dungeon, Bete was there after having watched the whole thing played out. He asked whether it was ok. Ais thanked him so he said he will leave. Ais then slowly walked outside the dungeon before leaving using ariel...

After Ais left, Wiene followed the other Xenos down the dungeon. Ottar then removed his Hades Hat, and Fels soon arrived from the 5th floor. After Fels congratulated Bell and Ottar on their success, they walked together outside the dungeon.

As Bell emerged from the dungeon with Fels and Ottar, he saw Finn and Tiona outside talking to Shakti. Before he had a chance to talk to them. There was a horrible howl from a long distance coming from the Daedalius area. Shortly after, he could see a large group approaching the Babel from the distance.

They also saw a group approaching from the Folkvangr direction as well as another group from the Twilight Manor direction. It appeared that the final confrontation was upon them...


	52. Chapter 52

**The Main Event**

As the large group approached from the Daedalius area, Finn and Tiona went to talk to Bell, Ottar and Fels.

Finn "Ottar, I must admit that we have been outwitted"

Ottar "I cannot take credit for outwitting the Braver" while Hermes smiled in the background.

Bell "These are not typical monsters. Wiene is kind and intelligent"

Finn looking surprised "What about Evilus?"

Bell "They fought Evilus in the Knossos and were on our side", which further surprised Finn.

Tiona "Little argonaut, do you have a monster fetish? Ais will be jealous", making Bell embarrassed...

Tomato faced Bell "Tiona-san, the Xenos want to coexist. They just want to be able to smile and laugh like the rest of us.", making Finn and Tiona quite confused.

Soon, Freya's group and Loki's group arrived at the Babel. Freya immediately went to talk to Ottar and checked on Bell. After hearing about Bell's battle with Ais, she gave Bell a quick update that showed a big jump.

level 4

strength: 395

endurance: 378

agility: 413

dexterity: 366

magic: 380

skill: argonaut, ox slayer

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape

During that time, Loki also went to confer with Finn about what happened. In disbelief about kind, intelligent monsters, Loki went to confront Freya, Hermes, Bell and Fels.

Loki "Freya, I admit you had us running in circles. But what insanity is this? Kind monsters? An alliance with monsters? Have you people gone insane?"

Before anyone could answer, there was a much louder howl as the large group from the Daedalius was getting close. They could see a large group of adventurers approaching with the black minotaur!

Seeing the danger, Finn and the twins headed towards the minotaur, but they were blocked by Ottar, Allen and Hogni. Suddenly, Bete jumped into the scene, and Ais, who was further away, also headed back to assist her familia. A confrontation was imminent.

Finn doing a face-palm "What are you people trying to accomplish? That minotaur is very dangerous"

Ottar looking at Bell "My familia is bringing the minotaur here for a battle, but the battle is not meant for you. We do not want to fight you even if we have advantage in numbers"

Hermes interjected from the background "Braver, watch for yourself. It will be glorious"

Finn "We will watch for now. If anything happens and there are casualties, then you are responsible"

Finally, the one-armed minotaur saw Bell and realized who Bell was and approached Bell.

Surprising everyone, the minotaur introduced himself to Bell in a respectful fashion "I am Asterius. May I know your name?"

Bell "I am Bell Cranel of the Freya familia."

Asterius "You are my fated rival who defeated me on the 9th floor. I have dreamed of a rematch. Would you grant me a rematch as my greatest rival?"

Bell "I hope we can coexist with the Xenos. But I will agree to your rematch".

Bell then looked to Ottar and Freya and they nodded at him. He then looked at Ais and smiled at her before turning to his new rival.

As Asterius and Bell battled with axe against knives, everyone could hardly believe their eyes. Bell, a new level 4, was fighting at a much higher level. Freya and Ottar were the only ones who understood that Bell's ox slayer skill was kicking in. With his stacked up stats and ox slayer, Bell was fighting Asterius like a mid level 6. Without any argonaut use, it was an even fight with the injured minotaur.

Many citizens of Orario were watching from near the Babel and started cheering for the little argonaut again, which made both Hermes and Freya happy. As the fight continued, more and more citizens came out to watch, and the mood was incredibly intense and the cheering was deafening.

With the huge crowd and the thundering cheers, Eina and other guild members also came outside of their building to watch the epic battle.

Syr and Ryuu also came to see the main event to cheer for Bell.

Hermes, Loki and Freya were all in awe watching the battle. Hermes of course was proclaiming his normal hero of the age stuff. Loki was also starting to understand why the battle was meant for Bell, with his reputation in Orario being repaired by the minute. At the same time, Freya was soaking in the battle as well as Bell's soul, which was so clear and shining throughout the battle.

Freya to Loki smiling "Now you see why my child will shine like none other?"

Loki refused to acknowledged Bell's hero role but had nothing to rebutt with...

Finn also watched the battle and was amazed at the level Bell was fighting at. Finn realized that Bell was a kind hero who simply wanted to help the weak. Inspired by Bell's pureness, he decided to also redouble his efforts to give Bell a better competitor in the hero race.

Bete was speechless watching the former diaper boy fighting at a higher skill level than Bete himself was at. He hated the feeling but he could not take his eyes off the battle.

The twins were fangirling again, screaming little argonaut cheers at the top of their lungs.

Ais watched her boyfriend be the hero that she could not be, while clearly fighting far above the level he was just fighting her at. Mini-Ais was cheering as hard as she could, even as Ais was simply staring at the battle unable to utter a word. With the enormous crowd support, it finally hit home that he had become the hero for most of Orario. It was her familia that was becoming out of touch.

While the fight continued, Lefiya came running out of the entrance, surprising many. Lefiya though had a great view of the epic battle, and Bell's excellence immediately captivated the adventurer in her as she joined in the cheering. Though she was painfully aware how cool that her rival looked, she promised herself to work even harder to catch up.

Nevertheless, Lefiya remembered that Riveria was in danger and quickly went to Finn, who was watching the battle with Loki, Freya, Hermes, Fels and Ottar.

Lefiya immediately reported that Riveria's group was on the 12th floor of the Knossos and required assistance for battling Evilus and Revis.

Ottar in his normal stoic tone "Finn, are you going to save your comrades? Nine Hells is the only first class adventurer fighting in the Knossos", completing the checkmate.

Fels then made a more-than-fair offer "There is a sizable group of Xenos with significant strength close to the 12th floor. If we can agree to a ceasefire, I will ask them to assist your group."

Finn and Loki looked at each other in defeat, as they had no choice but agree to a cease-fire.

After Fels contacted Lyd and Gros for help, Fels left with Finn, Tione, Lefiya, Raul and Bete for the dungeon. Not going to repeat their recent mistake, Finn left Ais and Tiona with Loki to monitor the minotaur situation along with the Freya familia...


	53. Chapter 53

**Rivals**

\- At the Babel -

As the fierce battle between Asterius and Bell continued, Bell had a small advantage with the minotaur already severely injured when they started. As Bell pushed Asterius back, the minotaur was pushed through the outside wall in the dungeon entrance area.

The huge amount of dust and debris blocked the view of many citizens as they did not dare get close to the battle. The adventurers, particularly the high level ones, followed after Bell and Asterius as the battle continued inside.

\- In the Dungeon -

As Fel, Finn, Tione, Bete, Raul and Lefiya rushed down the dungeon, the Xenos entered the Knossos entrance on the 12th floor. Going through the passageways, they soon saw a firefight between Riveria's elf squad and Evilus with Revis. It was obvious that Riveria's group was about out of magic.

While Lyd ran towards the elves yelling that Finn had sent them, the other Xenos joined the fight and helped the elves hold off Evilus and Revis.

Riveria did not know what to think about the talking monster, but she was not about to attack the talking monsters that were fighting Evilus...

\- Ten Minutes Later at the Babel -

Bell continued to gain the upper hand over Asterius. And a 5 second charge kick knocked Asterius through another wall.

As they fought, Ottar, Ais, Asfi and Tiona continued to follow them inside to monitor the battle. Loki, Freya and Hermes also followed behind the 1st class adventurers who ensured their safety.

Several Ganesha members, including Shakti, also followed them inside the Babel to watch the fight.

Outside, no one else dared enter even though the cheers for the little argonaut continued unabated.

\- Inside the Knossos -

Even with the reinforcements, Evilus had the upper hand. With no choice, the elves and the Xenos started to retreat back towards the dungeon. Using the last bit of remaining magic, Riveria launched Rea Laevateinn towards the enemy before the group ran out of the Knossos with the Xenos close behind.

After the flames settled down, Evilus and Revis chased after them into the dungeon while they retreated towards the 11th floor entrance.

In the meantime, Finn and Fels had already reached the 5th floor...

\- Inside the Babel -

Bell was clearly winning after another 10 minutes of the slugfest. With a 10 second charge argonaut slash, he finally knocked Asterius down for the count.

As Asterius prepared himself for the finishing blow, Bell instead poured a healing potion on him and lent him a hand to get up. That shocked Ais, Tiona, Ottar and almost everyone except Freya. For Freya, this is simply the same Bell who begged for the Barbelas' safety after they kidnapped him a few weeks ago ...

Freya to Loki "Now you see why my favorite will fullfill his True Calling to be the one to lead the age?"

A visibly shaken Loki admitted "I am not sure I will agree with your new age. But Bell is indeed unique."

Ais and Tiona both had to pinch themselves to believe what they just saw. Bell defeated the monster but healed it instead of killing it. This was the same monster that held her and her entire familia off for a long battle. And then he offered his hand to help the monster get up. Their idea of what is right and what is wrong had just been completely turned upside down.

Shocked Asterius "Why did you heal me, my rival. I lost."

Bell "We are rivals. Rivals don't need to kill each other. We battle to decide the winner, but why does the loser have to die? Let's have our rivalry based on trust and friendship"

Asterius "You have indeed earned my trust."

Bell "It was actually not a fair fight. You are already injured and without the use of one arm. Go get better and train. We will have a better battle when you are recovered."

Asterius "Yes, my rival. I will take my leave and look forward to our next battle. Hopefully the first of many...", then collected himself and headed down the dungeon.

At that point, Hermes raised his arms and screamed in glorious triumph. The ending was better than he could have scripted. In one battle, Bell had actually earned the trust and respect of the most powerful Xenos.

Loki was now at a total loss of words. She did decide that Bell had certainly earned her attention to give his new approach a fair look...

Watching and hearing everything, Ais' mind was spinning. As much as she was incapable of being a true hero, Bell had become that true hero. She could only ponder whether that was her boyfriend's True Calling - to reshape the world based on his strange new ideas of what is right and wrong.

Freya went to check on and congratulate Bell. She also gave him two kisses on the cheeks, which still made Ais extremely jealous.

Despite the euphoric circumstances, Loki suddenly came to her senses after a minute to gather her thoughts.

Loki ordered "Ais and Tiona, don't worry about me. Riveria is still danger in the the dungeon. Try to catch up with Finn. If you cannot, the Knossos entrance is somewhere on the eastern wall of the 12th floor of the dungeon".

Thus Ais activated ariel and move at top speed into the dungeon with Tiona running after her.

Not waiting for an update, Bell immediately raced after Ais and Tiona. As he ran, Ottar followed while carrying a large case of potions. Freya smirked watching Bell catch a healing potion and then a recovery potion thrown from Ottar. Indeed, Ottar looked like a doting parent chasing after a child with diapers and milk bottles. Hermes also wanted to follow them into the dungeon but Asfi stopped him. However, she knew he is going to be insufferable after masterminding this huge victory.

After sending Ais and Tiona, Loki sent message to Gareth to join her at the Babel.

\- A Short While Later -

With the action all finished, everyone else went back outside the Babel. The public had mostly went home after being told that the little argonaut had won but had to go on an emergency mission to help the Loki familia. Pleased with the news, Eina and her co-workers also went back inside to do their normal work.

\- At a Cafe Near the Babel -

The 3 gods continued to wait for news from the dungeon along with Asfi, Gareth and several Freya executives.

The question was if the help would arrive in time...


	54. Chapter 54

**Consequences**

\- On the 11th Floor of the Dungeon -

With Evilus and Revis hot on their trail, the Elf squad and the Xenos escaped as fast as they could up the dungeon. The head start they got from Riveria's Rea Laevateinn was the difference, but the enemy was starting to catch up. Also that spell basically used up all of Riveria's magic reserves.

Fortunately, the physical distance prevented the use of the suicide squads that were deployed in many traps in the Knossos. In fact, the enemy started having their suicide squads trail their main force by a significant distance. That was due to the elves repeatedly firing off fire magic with the hope to set off their kaenseki explosives.

As Revis got close, she threw a cursed blade towards the elves, but Ray sacrificed her body to save Alicia. In tears, Alicia carried the injured Xenos with her to try to save her savior. Unfortunately, that got Evilus even closer, and things were starting to look dire.

As Revis was about to strike down the elves, reinforcements finally arrived with Finn, Bete, Fels, Tione, Raul and Lefiya. Finn, Bete and Tione went to gang up on Revis while Lefiya, Raul and Fels helped with the injured Xenos and elves.

Finn "Lefiya, help Riveria, she is almost mind zero. Get them up the dungeon now!"

Tione "We will hold them off, just get them out of here!"

Lefiya "Haik!"

With Finn, Bete and Tione forming a barrier against the enemy, the elves and Xenos were able to retreat to the 10th floor. There, they regrouped a bit while treating the wounded. The first priority was a couple recovery potions for Riveria while using healing potions on the injured elves and Xenos. Unfortunately, the injuries to Ray and Alicia would not close due to the use of cursed weapons. Thus, they rushed the two back to the surface with Gros carrying Ray and Lyd carrying Alicia.

Seeing Riveria in better condition, Lefiya headed back to assist Finn's group along with several Xenos. As Lefiya approached the fight, she started to chant Fusillade Fallarica. The spell took out most of the remaining Evilus, but they could see that Revis was unaffected. Further back, Ein also seemed to be completely unaffected by Lefiya's attack.

However, the fire based spell soon ignited a whole series of explosions when all the Kaenseki on the dead Evilus members all exploded. The explosions were enormous, collapsing a huge portion of the floor...


	55. Chapter 55

**A Minor Complication**

Suddenly, the entire dungeon seemed to have gone into massive convulsions and spawned a monster that no one recognized. Being closest to Revis, it first attacked Revis. While uninjured, Revis realized the monster was extremely powerful. With Evilus mostly destroyed by Lefiya's attack and the subsequent explosions, Revis did not want to have to fight the monster, the Xenos and the Loki familia by herself. Thus she quickly left and headed to the 12th floor. With Revis gone, the monster quickly killed all the remaining Evilus members with incredible speed.

Finn, Bete, Tione and Lefiya were grateful that Revis was gone and the remnants of Evilus destroyed. However, they did not know whether the monster was a Xenos on their side. Though they quickly realized that the monster was not an ally after it attacked Bete.

While Finn, Tione and Lefiya watched, Bete and the monster had a incredibly fast exchange of blows. The problem is that while Bete's strikes hit, they did not caused much damage on its heavily armored body. On the other hand, the monster dealt a tremendous amount of damage on Bete. The monster then finished Bete off by hitting him with its tail, sending him flying into a wall.

Seeing the monster defeat Bete, Lefiya launched arcs ray at it, but the magic bounced back at Lefiya. The reflected arcs ray caused a huge injury and knocked Lefiya unconscious.

The monster then went back to finish Bete, forcing Finn to jumped in to defend with his spear. Finn fared better against the monster than Bete but again was unable to land an effective strike due to the monster's armor. Finn's attack did allow time for Tione to carry Bete away to the 10th floor for treatment by the elves. However, with Lefiya was still lying nearby, Finn could not allow the fighting to head towards the unconscious elf during their battle. That liability forced Finn to expose himself significantly more. After a few more minutes, Finn was punished by a deep slash from the monster. No longer able to put up an effective defense, he ran in the opposite direction from Lefiya, hoping to draw the monster away.

As the monster gave chase, Ais finally arrived. Seeing the unconscious Lefiya and her injured captain, Ais immediately intercepted the monster while launching a powerful ariel attack. Unfortunately, the huge ariel attack also reflected back, disrupting ariel and knocking Ais unconscious 50 feet away against the dungeon wall...


	56. Chapter 56

**Taking Advantage**

At that point, the monster then turned its attention back to the injured pallum. Fortunately, Tione arrived, followed by Tiona, Bell and Ottar soon after. Seeing Ais injured, Bell was furious and the grand bell immediately started ringing. As Bell charged, Tione used a potion on Finn while Tiona went to assist the few small Xenos carry Lefiya to safety. That left Bell and Ottar to deal with the monster.

The monster assessed the situation and decided Ottar was the much bigger threat. Thus it focused its attack on Ottar, who took on the monster while Bell continued to charge.

Once Finn started to recover a bit, he immediately warned Bell and Ottar about the monster. Meantime Tione tried to princess carry Finn back, but sadly he wanted to stay.

Finn "The monster's armor reflects magic. Bell, whatever you do, do not use an argonaut firebolt on it"

Hearing the warning, Bell decided to instead cast firebolt on his blades before applying argonaut charging to increase their power.

At that point, Ottar was clearly winning being stronger and faster. While the monster could attack with both arms, legs and its vicious tail, Ottar was able to get in several good deep cuts.

Realizing Ottar is far too strong, the monster decided to escape. However, Bell stood in its way with 2 flaming blades that were now glowing brilliant white. Despite the grand bell and the dangerous looking blades, the monster believed that Bell was the easier path for its escape. It slashed at Bell, who countered with a slash with one of his glowing blades. Bell's slash broke through, cutting off one of the monster's arms with the impact sending the monster into the air back towards Ottar. Ottar then sent the monster back towards Bell with a slash with his huge sword that chopped off the monster's tail. While the monster was still up in the air from the rebound, Bell leaped high into the air and slashed down at it with the other glowing blade. That slash chopped off the monster's other arm and shattered its body. To make sure the job was done, Ottar and Bell hacked the monster to pieces, which soon turned to dust.

The victorious group then headed to the 10th floor to check on the injured. At that point, Riveria was feeling a lot better and Bete just woke back up. Still, with Lefiya and Ais still out cold, they did not want to test their victory. Thus, the entire group headed back up the dungeon with Bell princess carrying Ais and Tiona doing the same with Lefiya. Bell was still very worried about Ais, but she actually quietly woke up about half way back up to the surface...

\- At the Cafe near the Babel -

After several hours of waiting, the 3 gods were happy to see them safely returned. The 3 gods could easily tell that Ais was no longer unconscious, but they decided to allow the girl take advantage of the situation...

The first issue discussed was the condition of Alicia and Ray. Turned out that Alicia and Ray were both treated by Airmid, who was able to cure them of the wounds from the cursed weapons. Both were now recovering at a secluded section of the Twilight Manor.

When the topic shifted to the Knossos mission, they all agreed that the Knossos operation still need to proceed. However the hope was that the operation had gotten easier with so much of Evilus destroyed. Though after the huge battles, they decided to give themselves a few days to recover and prepare for the mission. Also the Dionysus familia and the Hephaestus familia will be assisting.

Regarding the Xenos, even though the first collaboration was successful, everyone agreed that the overall matter needs to be negotiated. However, they also agreed that it could wait until after the Knossos mission was completed. Plus, they were all glad to hear that the Xenos agreed to take part in the Knossos mission.

Finally, when the conversation turned to the strange monster that defeated so many 1st class Loki adventurers, Fels informed them that the monster was called juggernaut, and it only appears when the dungeon is heavily damaged.

\- That Evening -

Freya gave Bell an update and was surprised ...


	57. Chapter 57

**Love**

\- At the Folkvangr -

After the incredible ordeal of the Xenos and the Juggernaut, Bell hoped to finally have a chance to relax a bit before the Knossos mission starts. That evening, Freya gave him an update that evening and the result was surprising. 3 weeks after reaching level 4, Bell was ready to level to level 5.

level 4

strength: 895

endurance: 893

agility: 974

dexterity: 856

magic: 1080

skill: argonaut, ox slayer

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape

Just as it was for level 4, Freya recommended that Bell increase his stats before leveling, which Bell agree with. However, they were all in agreement that he should level before the Knossos mission. Thus relaxation became intense training.

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Tione and Tiona were looking forward to training with Bell who looked totally cool in his latest battle. Their fangirling from afar was getting to Ais and Lefiya for different reasons.

Ais was however still very torn about what happened with the Xenos. Her vow to kill monsters had now been shattered so it was difficult for her to move forward. So she did look forward to talk to Bell and see how he will continue to fight and kill monsters.

Loki, Finn, Riveria and Gareth also discussed how they were played in the recent events. Loki was frustrated at being bested by Freya and Hermes. Finn though comforted Loki insisting that it was essentially them against everyone else.

Riveria "So I missed the Bell Cranel show. What really happened at the Babel earlier today?"

Finn "Well, Bell defeated the black minotaur that held most of us at bay. Then instead of killing it after defeating it, he healed it, made friends with it, and thus gained a new ally. All that time, much of Orario was watching and cheering him on, which completely repaired his reputation and actually took it to a new elevated level. Then after most of us were defeated by the juggernaut, Bell and Ottar proceeded to defeat the monster by bouncing it back and forth with their weapons strikes. This was also enabled with a new use for his argonaut skill and his firebolt magic that created some type of flaming sword which shone a brilliant white. That about covers it..."

Gareth nonchalantly "The pallum sounds jealous lol", making Finn wince.

Riveria smiled "That about covers it"

Loki winked "Finn, you need to catch up in the hero race. I am counting on you!"

Finn "And the Xenos"

Riveria "After being saved by Ray and other Xenos, Alicia and the other elves will refuse to fight them"

Gareth "They do look like the peaceful type"

Finn "All except the Asterius, but he is now Bell's buddy"

Loki laughed at Finn again, causing the others to join in.

\- In Ouranos' Chamber -

Fels "It appears most of Evilus has been destroyed by the Loki familia and the Xenos.

Ouranos "Did we identify any of the bodies"

Fels "Most were not recognizable"

Fels "Jura Hamler of the Rudra familia was found among the dead. It was originally thought that he perished when the Gale was getting revenge"

Ouranos "Is the Knossos mission ready?"

Fels "I healed Asterius' arm so he will be taking part"

Ourano "We have really come to rely on Bell Cranel"

\- The Next Day -

Bell met Ais, Tiona and Tione at the city walls. With Bell now a very advanced 4th level, the training was very very intense. Stats-wise, Bell had caught up or exceed the 3 sisters, when considering the stacked up stats. Thus, there was minimal lap pillowing to be had.

Ottar and Freya continued to train Haruhime in the morning. Haruhime had made a lot of progress even as the Xenos situation was blowing up. She now was able to boost Ottar for more than 20 minutes multiple times with 30 minutes of rest in between. Alternatively, she could also boost 5 people for up to 8 minutes twice with an hour of rest in between.

At lunch, Ais got to ask Bell about his feelings regarding monsters.

Ais "Bell, with your feelings about the Xenos, how do you fight monsters and kill them?"

Bell "Actually, I asked one of the Xenos, Lyd, about this."

Ais "Really?"

Bell "Yes, he said absolutely kill a monster if you come upon one. Assume a monster is dangerous. If it is an intelligent one or Xenos, it will let you know"

Ais "Well, that sort of makes sense"

Bell "I know it is hard to do, but I have already gotten used to it"

Ais pouted "Here is another thing you are ahead of me"

Bell "I still have a long way to go"

Tiona butted in "Little argonaut, you have already caught up to us."

Tione "You sure have. And you still have not shared your secret"

Bell "I dont know what it is..."

For the afternoon, Ottar and Freya had joined Bell's training on the city walls. Ottar took turns sparring with Ais and with Bell. The goal was to help Ais fight Revis and to help Bell learn to fight someone that was still stronger than him.

In the evening, Bell performed argonaut training for both charging firebolts as well as the sword charging technique he discovered in the fight against the juggernaut. This was a great way to ensure he got tired and sleepy for a good night of sleep.

This training schedule pretty much continued until the Knossos mission which was 4 days later.

On Bell's final stats update, he was ss or beyond for all stats before leveling to level 5, which was achieved in a little under 5 months.

level 4

strength: 1135

endurance: 1087

agility: 1213

dexterity: 1068

magic: 1291

skill: argonaut, ox slayer, love

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape, magic resistance

Freya then explained the details. Magic resistance was not unexpected, and everyone knew the rules. However, the intrigue was with the unique love skill. When she discussed with Bell, she admitted that she was at a loss of how it would be used in a fight. However Freya did enjoy teasing Bell a bit regarding what it implied for his original intentions to become an adventurer. That was of course followed by a head pat and two kisses on the cheeks.

Freya was curious herself how powerful the love skill would be compared to her charm. But it did make sense given how Bell gained so many fans in the barbelas, the general public and even the Xenos, while not even counting his potential harem members. However, she was also concerned about what effect it will have on the other girls, particularly her rival Ais. Nevertheless, exploring Bell's new skill was probably going have to wait until after the Knossos mission...


	58. Chapter 58

**Curses!**

\- The Plan -

The next day, the familias gathered for the Knossos mission with Finn as the overall general in charge. Realizing Enyo is a god, Loki and Dionysus would be going into the Knossos to protect the adventurers. Beyond Enyo, the primary targets were anticipated to be Revis and multiple demi spirits. The primary strategy was to force the enemy to use the jewel fetuses inside the Knossos, making it difficult to transport the transformed demi spirits to the surface.

The familia alliance believed that the most critical floors would be between 7 and 12. There were probably jewel fetuses and/or demi spirits close to the control room on the 9th floor. Thus the attack plan would be multi-prong. 4 groups would attack from Daedalius street, 3 groups would attack from the 12th floor entrance from the dungeon while the Xenos with Fels would attack from the 18th floor entrance. During the operation, the Ganesha familia would deploy at the Daedalius entrance area and the Babel entrance. Several Freya executives and support members would guard the 12th floor entrance from the dungeon side.

From the Daedalius street entrance, the 1st team consisted of Finn, Tione, Ray, Airmid, Loki and members of the Loki familia. The 2nd team consisted of Gareth, Lefiya, Filvis, Dionysus and the Dionysus familia. The 3rd team consisted of 2 Gulliver brothers, Ryuu and members of the Freya familia. The 4th team consisted of Tsubaki, Tiona, Raul and members of the Hephaestus familia. Teams 1 and 3 would travel together with team 1 leading the attack and team 3 mopping up. Teams 2 and 4 would also travel together with team 2 leading the attack and team 4 mopping up. The Hermes familia would also be involved at the Daedalius street entrance, though their role was not explained to the other teams.

The attack from the 12th floor entrance would be timed to start after the attacks from the surface had made substantial progress. The goal was to draw the enemy defense towards the surface before attacking the central area from the 12th floor entrance. The 5th team consisted of Bell, Ais, Ottar, Welf, Haruhime, members of the Freya familia and the Loki familia. The 6th team consisted of Riveria, the elf squad, Bete and members of the Loki familia. The 7th team consisted of Allen, 2 Gulliver brothers and members of the Freya familia. Teams 5 and 6 would lead the attacks, while team 7 would hold the area around the 12th floor entrance. Several Freya executives and additional support members would be ready for backup duty outside the 12th floor entrance.

The Xenos would attack from the 18th floor while traveling up to meet the teams at the 12th floor entrance.

\- Start of Attack -

With the launch of the operation, Team 1 led by Finn and Team 2 led by Gareth entered the Knossos. Close behind were Team 3 and Team 4. Despite the previous operation, there were still a large number of Evilus in the Knossos. Evilus members were using suicide attacks, violas and various monsters to battle the attacking teams.

Even worse, Evilus members used cursed weapons to inflict an unhealable curse on some team members. Fortunately, Airmid went along with Finn's lead team and used Dia Fratel to continuously heal the cursed members.

After a couple hours, Finn's team 1 and Gareth's team 2 both reached the 5th floor. Following the plan, they were able to draw a lot of the defenders towards them to make the critical floors less well guarded.

\- 2nd Stage of Attack -

After Finn and Gareth both reported reaching the 5th floor, the attack from the 12th floor and the 18th floor commenced.

On the 12th floor, Ais, Bell and Ottar led the 5th team into the Knossos using their copy of the Daedalius orb. Riveria and Bete then followed with the 6th team in another direction. However, Riveria soon sensed Revis using the magic circles of Rea Laevateinn.

With Revis being so dangerous and one of their 2 primary targets, team 5 circled back towards team 6 to encircle Revis.

On the 18th floor, Fels and the Xenos entered the Knossos. With the intense fighting near the surface, there were minimal defenders. Thus they made quick progress up the 15th floor with only monsters to battle along the way.

\- In the Knossos Control Room -

Barca monitored the progress of the attack teams and was worried about the fast progress of the attack teams, which had already reached the 7th floor and the 8th floor.

Realizing it was time to use his huge trap, he walked to a circular room with a self-destruct control. The trap involved used a similar mechanism for opening doors to collapse a floor by removing its support pillars. His plan was to collapse the entire 7th floor when attackers reached the 8th floor.

\- With the Hermes Familia -

However, before Barca could activate the self-destruct control, Asfi attacked him and forced him away from the device. Furthermore, other Hermes familia members removed their Hades Hats that made them visible. When Barca asked them how they knew so much, it turned out that they were able to force an Evilus member to talk using truth serum.

Furthermore, Lulune picked up Barca's copy of Daedalus' Journal, which the captured member indicated would make a fast attack possible. Barca finally realized that Finn's group was the decoy for sneaking in Hermes familia to take over the control room.

While they disabled the self destruct mechanism, Lulune read through the journal to discover the location of the 6 demi spirits on the 10th floor and the Evilus base on the 9th floor. That information was immediately relayed to all the teams via occulus devices.

\- With Finn's Group -

Having received the information from Lulune, Finn dispersed his group to encircle the enemy on the 9th floor. He was surprised to hear that the 6 jewel fetuses were already transformed because it may not be simple to get the demi spirits to the surface...

\- With Gareth's Group -

Gareth's team 2 also reached the 9th floor. They were also dispersing to encircle the enemy.

\- With Bell, Ais and Ottar -

When team 5 reached team 6, they started chasing after Revis' location using Riveria's detection ability. While most defenders had gone to the higher floors to assist with the attacks from the surface, they still had to get through large numbers of violas and other monsters.

\- With Fels and the Xenos -

The Xenos continued to make good progress up the Knossos. They have now reached the 13th floor.

\- In the Control Room -

While the Hermes familia was busy defeating the self-destruct and communicating with other groups, Barca became devastated with his plans destroyed. At that point, Finn, Ray, Tione, Airmid and a few others arrived at the control room to interrogate Barca.

To protect Knossos, Barca suddenly stabbed himself with a cursed sword many times, turning his blood black. Then he pressed a spare jewel fetus against his chest to transform into a hideous human demi spirit. The black veins on Barca's right arm burst, spraying black blood on whoever that was close by...

\- In the Thanatos Familia Room -

In a different location on the 9th floor, Thanatos told Ein that it was time to unleash the demi spirits, but Ein replied that Enyo had another plan and that Thanatos would be sacrificed. After Ein left, Thanatos started laughing out loud realizing he had been used.

\- With Gareth' Group -

Gareth had Lefiya continue to search for Ein using the magic circles of Lefiya's Rea Laevateinn. Some how, Dionysus became separated from his body guard Filvis ...

\- With Ais, Bell and Ottar -

As Bells group and Riveria's group encircled Revis' location, Haruhime used Uchide no Kozuchi to boost the level of Ottar, Bell and Ais.

Soon their group finally caught up with Revis, who was at the other side of a large room.

Seeing Revis, Bell went straight to charging argonaut with no limit. At the same time, Ottar and Ais charged towards Revis...


	59. Chapter 59

**Transformations**

\- In the Control Room -

The black veins on Barca's right arm sprayed black blood on whoever that was close by. Fortunately, Airmid was with the group and she proceeded to heal those affected by the blood. However, everyone was then targeted again by the curse spray, requiring more healing. This kept repeating until Finn led a charge from one side while Tione attacked from the other side.

\- With Ais, Bell and Ottar -

Bell had charged argonaut for about 2 minutes, and the grand bell continued to ring while bright white particles surrounded Bell and his 2 black blades.

Seeing Revis, Ais followed Ottar's advice and viewed Revis as a monster. Ais then activated Ariel and Avenger to create black wind, causing Bell and Ottar to both take notice...

As Ottar and Ais charged towards Revis in the large room, Revis retreated only to find that another entrance was blocked by Riveria and her group. Though she was stronger, she could not try to force her way through which would allow Ais and Ottar to catch up. Thus she headed for another entrance.

\- In the Control Room -

Everyone struggled to fight the Barca demi spirit. It was able to attack them with many arms, spray them with more curse showers, and also regenerate. Even worse, the blood that missed the target turned into a miasma, which made many cough up blood.

Analyzing the situation, Airmid realized that she must stop the chain of curses by stopping it at the source. Airmid then shocked everyone when she cast Dia Fratel on the Barca demi spirit. Barca suffered intense pain from Airmid's magic, and in return used miasma to attack Airmid, causing her intense pain. At the end, Airmid won, removing Barca's curse. While healers used their remaining potions to treat Airmid, Tione chopped off Barca's arms, only to discover that he was already dead.

\- In the Thanatos Familia Room -

As Thanatos sensed that Barca had passed, Loki walked into the room telling him to give up. Seeing Gareth and others entered with Loki, he was clearly surrounded. When asked, he said he was not Enyo. And then he told Loki what he previously told Lefiya and that Enyo never considered the Knossos as a fortress but as an altar for a sacrifice.

Realizing the mission has been far too easy, Loki thought about the altar and realized they may have been played. Though she could not quite connect the dots.

Thanatos then asked Loki whether she was the only god in the attacking group, which made everyone suddenly realize that Dionysus was missing. Thus Loki immediately called out to Dionysus using her occulus. Through his occulus, Dionysus then apologized for going on his own without telling anyone. Dionysus continued to say that he will get his revenge for his members that were murdered, despite Loki's pleas to stop...

\- On the 12th Floor -

Bell was more than 3 minutes into his argonaut charging, with the grand bell's ringing continuing to encourage everyone in their battles.

As Ottar and Ais chased Revis, the Xenos entered the final entrance to the room with Asterius leading the way. Forced to retreat once again, Revis was attacked by Ais and Ottar. Ais badly damaged Revis' left leg while Ottar chopped off her right arm.

Cornered, the regenerating Revis took out a jewel fetus and pushed it against her chest...


	60. Chapter 60

**Darkness**

\- In the Thanatos Familia Room -

While Loki was talking to Dionysus, Ein appeared with many monsters, forcing the adventurers to battle the violas and other monsters.

At the same time, Loki continued to scream at Dionysus to stop via the occulus. However she started hearing Dionysus talking to someone. As Loki called out his name, he simply apologized to her again. Shortly after, a pillar of light broke through the ground and shot into the sky, catching the attention of all in the Knossos and in Orario.

Lefiya then noticed that Filvis and the other Dionysus members seeming to lose their power. Seeing Lefiya's realization, Ein informed her that a God just returned to heaven. Filvis then attacked Ein with a fury that Lefiya had not seen, but was easily captured as she seemed to have lost all her speed and power.

\- On the 10th Floor -

With the pillar of light, the trigger was pulled. The 6 demi spirits then started singing and became connected to each other via a ring of light along the hallways. The demi spirits then expanded and green flesh began to overflow from their bodies across the Knossos at an incredible rate. The green meat absorbed anyone that it came contact with and turned the Knossos into an giant vase of green meat.

\- On the 12th Floor -

When Bell's charging passed 4 minutes, Revis had just pressed a jewel fetus against her chest. Immediately, Revis turned into a hideous demi spirit that resembled the Barca demi spirit except it was green instead of black.

Ottar tried to attack the transformed Revis but after some fighting, was slammed against the wall by one of several large tentacles of the Revis demi spirit.

Seeing Revis' horrid transformation, Ais then launched an ariel attack with black wind that blew a hole through the monster. However the Revis demi spirit quickly regenerated after the attack.

At the same time, Riveria started chanting Rea Laevateinn to attack the monster.

Being unsuccessful the first time with the black wind, the black flames in Ais was burning like the fires of hell. That caused her to succumb completely to the black flames as she gathered the black wind for a second attack... The black aura around Ais was noticed by all, but no one was in a position to stop Ais from using her 'ultimate' attack.

Suddenly, green meat also started pouring into the large room, further providing the Revis demi spirit with a green armor layer and green spikes on the tentacles.

With the green meat taking over the area, most of the attacking force was forced to retreat towards the 12th floor entrance. However, Bell continued to charge and was soon finished at 5 minutes. Fully charged, he launched an enormous firebolt attack at the Revis demi spirit through his 2 twin blades that were shining a brilliant white.

At the same time, Ais launched her black wind ariel attack while Riveria also launched Rea Laevateinn. Thus it was a swirl of black and white with fire added on top.

The 3 enormous magics converged at the Revis demi spirit causing tremendous destruction, consuming the monster, melting the walls and floor of the area...

After firing off the black wind attack, Ais also completely lost control of herself, having succumbed to the black flames. As she screamed out of control, Bell, Riveria and Ottar tried to grab the 'Dark' Ais and escape from the large room...


	61. Chapter 61

**Nightmare**

\- In the Thanatos Familia Room -

After Ein and the violas captured Filvis, he quickly snapped her neck before she was torn apart by the violas. Seeing her soulmate torn apart, Lefiya screamed in horror but was powerless to act.

At the same time, Thanatos explained to Loki that a God being sent back to heaven was the catalyst and trigger for the altar. That confused Loki who shouted at Thanatos to explain himself.

Meanwhile, despite their attempt to stopped the flow of the green meat, the room was quickly filling up with the stuff.

\- With Finn's Group -

With the green meat also filling up the control room, Finn and his group raced to find Loki, who was in the Thanatos familia room with Thanatos and Gareth's group.

When they finally found Loki, the problem was that there was no escape from the room as all the entrances were overflowing with green meat.

At that point, Thanatos decided that he was not going to be Enyo's pawn. Instead to spite Enyo, he stabbed himself with a sword. Thus Thanatos' pillar of light opened up an escape path for Finn, Loki and everyone in the room.

Quickly, the adventurers jumped up through the hole opened up by Thanatos, but they were unable to help the Dionysus members who had all lost their power.

To save Loki, Finn threw Loki up to Tione, before fighting off another monster. As it looked like Finn would be absorbed by the green meat, Finn was instead saved by Ray who was looking to assist victims. Surprised by being saved, Finn thanked Ray as she lifted him to safety.

Unfortunately, there was insufficient time to save the helpless Dionysus members as the green meat absorbed everything in its way.

\- At the Daedaius Entrance area -

As they escaped back to the surface, the green meat followed them, forming a cap to seal whatever was going on in the Knossos. After a quick count, all the team members from teams 1 to 4 survived except for Dionysus and his familia. Nevertheless, Finn's thumb was throbbing. That made him worry about what was going on inside the Knossos, as well as what happened to the other teams.

During all this time, Finn, Loki and his team members constantly replayed in their minds the horror of all the Dionysus members drowning in the sea of green meat. Loki was furious with herself after having to swallow the most devastating defeat in the history of her familia and the complete destruction of an alliance familia.

Furthermore, Lefiya was in a catatonic state and had to be carried. Once they reached the surface, Loki immediately had Lefiya brought back to the Twilight Manor.

\- On the 12th Floor of the Knossos -

The 3 magics incinerated the Revis demi spirit while melting the walls and floor of the room. While Bell and Ottar were glad to see the monster's magic stone shatter, they had much bigger problems at the moment.

Ais was screaming in pain and anguish as the black flames took over, causing a dark black aura. However, with green meat rapidly filling the Knossos, they had no choice but drag 'Dark' Ais to the dungeon.

\- On the 12th Floor of the Dungeon -

Once back across to the dungeon side, they also did a quick count. Everyone, including the Xenos, was able to escape. However, 'Dark' Ais was completely out of her mind, screaming and in a lot of pain. Riveria and Bell looked at her but did not know what to do. Riveria tried to explain to Bell who was in tears.

Riveria "Bell, Ais always had a dark side to her that drove her to get better and better when she was younger. Only in the last few years did she started to smile more when Tiona, Tione and Lefiya joined the familia"

Bell "How could that be, Lady Riveria?"

Riveria "Ais has a past that is very sad. May be she will tell you when she gets better, but she still is not able to tell Tiona, Tione and Lefiya."

Even as they spoke, the aura around Ais was getting darker and darker. Inside, the black flames were taking over her personality, driving mini-Ais to tears. Thus, they rushed Ais back toward the surface as Bell gave her a princess carry. But the aura just getting worse and worse...


	62. Chapter 62

**Emergency**

\- About an Hour Later -

Everyone rushed Ais to Airmid's hospital. Inside a private room, Airmid examined Ais for a long time before coming out to update everyone on Ais' condition.

Airmid "I tested for everything, but there is no injury, no curse, nothing physical whatsoever. Whatever it is, it is in her mind. There is nothing I can do"

After Airmid, Riveria tried to calm Ais by repeating how much she cared about Ais, how everyone cared about Ais, and how Ais has a family who loves her. However, there was no visible improvement. In fact, the aura continued to get worse. Riveria was really scared about what this was evolving into.

While everyone else were waiting outside for Riveria, Loki was deep in thought.

Loki "Raul, I want you to fetch Freya here as soon as possible. I am afraid the damage could be irreversible if something is not done soon."

Raul "Haik!"

Loki to everyone "Alright, there is no way I will allow Ais to suffer like this, even if I need to go back to heaven. Do you understand me?"

Finn "Loki, let's not do anything hasty."

Loki "I will not do anything hasty, but it may be incurable by any conventional method if it is what I am worried it is"

Loki then went in to talk to Ais, but her talk also did not yield any improvement. A short while later, Riveria and Loki walked out of the room together looking completely depressed. With that, everyone went together to check on Ais.

Worried Bell "She seems to be getting worse..."

Sad Riveria "We need to try to calm her anger. But my talk did not work. Neither was Loki able to do anything", as she held onto Ais' hands.

Worried Bell "But what can be done?"

Riveria "Well, the biggest positive changes in Ais was actually brought on by you. When she first met you, when you ran from her, ... all those things actually had a big and positive impact on her"

Riveria looking frustrated "Bell, I think it is up to you now..."

Bell "But what am I going to do?"

At that time, Freya walked in "Little one, you may need to use the new skill you got"

Bell "But what do I do?"

Freya "You need to calm her hot flames. Use that skill to make her feel wanted and loved. I cannot give you any more advice but follow what your skill tells you"

Bell "..."

Loki "Bell, do the best you can. Do whatever you need to do. I will support you. Please succeed. If you fail, I will need to go back to heaven"

Bell "Lady Loki, I will do everything in my power"

Riveria "Bell, you love her. Put out the angry flame. Whatever you do or try, we will support you."

Bell "Yes, Lady Riveria. I will try my very very best. I promise"

With that, everyone else left the room, closed and locked the door behind Bell and Ais.

Loki to Freya "If I need to go back to heaven, you will take good care of my children?"

Freya "Don't worry about that now. If it comes to it, they will of course be well taken care of"

Loki "Freya, what is this new skill you are talking about?"

Freya pulls Loki off to the side, then whispered in her ears.

Freya "It is an unique skill that I have never seen before called love"

Loki faints.


	63. Chapter 63

**Waiting**

Seeing Loki fainted, Finn went to help her off of Freya and carried her to a couch. No one heard what Freya said, but whatever she said, it was a shocker.

Everyone waited outside for Bell. They heard the same screams and anguished cries. That continued.

Minutes went by, an hour went by, but the screams and cries continued.

Then all of the sudden, the noise went away. It was quiet. Their curiosity was overwhelming but their self control won out.

They continued to wait for Bell to come outside. He did not. More time went by again, minutes, another hour, ...

Trying to keep everyone from going crazy. Finn started talking about the Knossos and what had to be done. At the same time, they would also need to check on the catatonic Lefiya. It was a disaster all around.

First, they received a report about the green meat. Apparently, it continued to seal the opening to the Knossos, but it did not further spread either. Nobody could figure out what was going on inside.

Second, they discussed the mural of Nidhogg that they saw. Finn also remarked that the 6 women in the mural matched the number of demi spirits connected by the ring of light.

Third, Loki brought up the issue of what they discovered in Dionysus' wine cellar. She ordered Raul and Annakitty to get Hermes and go investigate the Demeter family home.

At that point, Freya redirected the conversation back to the power of the enemy.

Freya "Ottar said the Revis demi spirit was beyond a level 7 monster. Can there be more of the same?"

Finn "There is another figure, Ein, whose face is always behind a mask. We just do not know how many jewel fetus there are"

Finn "This green meat is strange and it attacks on its own"

Loki "It seems the 2 gods' power and the dead adventurers were harvested to create something horrible"

Riveria "We should send scout parties to investigate what they can."

Raul "The Ganesha familia continue to watch the areas by the entrances.

Finn "We need to send a party to monitor the 12th floor entrance and the 18th floor entrance."

\- Two Hours Later -

Raul and Annakitty reported back.

Raul "We went to the Demeter familia home. It was completely empty. Except in the basement, there was a smell of blood with a message written in blood - Become extinct, Orario. I will open the path to the underworld - apparently from Enyo"

Annakitty "Hermes thinks there is a Demeter Familia hideout in the Beol Mountains to the north"

Loki "Go investigate with the Hermes familia. It feels like we are being led to a conclusion..."

They talked for about another 10 minutes. As they were wrapping up, Bell opened the door.

Coming outside, Bell was unable to look Loki, Riveria or Freya in their eyes.

Bell looking down "Ais is more stable now. But the problem persists"

Riveria "What do we do now?"

Bell looking down "I am not sure. I cannot do any more at this time. I will continue tomorrow"

Bell did not seem to want to talk about what happened. No one dared to ask for details. Loki did not want to know any details. With Bell exhausted, Airmid led him to a spare room in the hospital to sleep. Afterwards, they went to check on Ais. Bell said the problem was still there but at least she was no longer screaming in pain and anguish. They were not sure if she was sleeping or unconscious, but they would leave that until the next day. But the dark aura persisted.

With that, everyone went home to sleep with Bell, Loki and Riveria staying in spare rooms at the hospital overnight.

Before leaving, Freya checked on Bell. Freya did give Bell an update showing a shocking jump in magic stats:

level 5

strength: 86

endurance: 81

agility: 93

dexterity: 79

magic: 351

skill: argonaut, ox slayer, love

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape, magic resistance

\- Back at the Twilight Manor -

Finn, Tione, Tiona and Gareth checked on Lefiya. But she was completely unresponsive to anyone. She just sat there in a complete daze.

With no choice, Tiona changed Lefiya to her sleeping clothes and put her to bed.


	64. Chapter 64

**The Past**

\- The Next Morning -

Bell slept well as the use of his skill completely exhausted him. After waking up, he went to check on Ais in her patient room.

Loki and Riveria were already there.

Loki "Bell, was Ais responsive yesterday?"

Bell "She was conscious for a short time. She was very confused and talked about the black flames"

With that, Loki took Bell and Riveria outside the room.

Loki "Bell, I will tell you a little about Ais' past, as you need to know."

Loki "First, she is Albert's daughter."

Bell stayed calm "I did suspect there was something about Wallenstein and Waldstein"

Loki "I will not tell you anything about how she came to the Loki Familia. But the second key fact is that Ais has spirit blood"

Bell "Well that would explain her strong wind. Is that related to the Great Wind Spirit Aria"

Loki "Yes, Aria is her mother. And Ais wants to save her from the OEBD somehow"

Bell "I see, so that is why she wants to get strong so badly"

Loki "Also have you heard about the corrupted spirit?"

Bell "A little but not much"

Loki "Spirits used to protect civilization. But as they were injured in battle, somehow they became corrupted. We believe a major spirit was corrupted and is the source of the jewel fetus and the demi spirits. That corrupted spirit is probably very deep in the dungeon"

Bell "I see. How is Ais linked to the corrupted spirit?"

Loki "I am afraid that Ais may be being corrupted by her traumatic experience and her history. Those linked to the corrupted spirits can feel Ais' presence."

Riveria "You should remember the demi spirit called out to Aria - thought she was her mother"

Bell "OMG, I understand. I will do whatever I can."

Loki "Remember these facts when you try to save her"

Bell "I understand. This information does help me."

At that time, Finn, Tiona, Tione and Gareth returned.

Finn "Lefiya is in a state not much different than Ais"

Loki "OMG"

Riveria "Bell, we may be asking you to help Lefiya also"

Bell "I understand. I will spend time with Ais now, and then I will go to the Twilight Manor afterwards."

Finn "No need. We are bringing Lefiya here. Save your time, strength and energy"

At that time, Lili, Haruhime and Welf came by to visit Bell.

Welf "Hey man, how are you doing? I heard you took down one big monster"

Bell "Yes, we did it together, but Ais is not doing well."

Lili "We are sorry to see you sad, Bell sama"

Bell "Thank you, Lili"

Haruhime "Bell sama, we brought some potato snacks for you"

That gave Bell an idea as potato snacks are Ais' favorite. After talking to Loki and Finn, they agreed to Bell's suggestion.

Bell then had his private time with Ais. Everyone just waited outside again as the session continued. After about an hour or so, they thought they heard Ais sobbing, but were not totally sure.

Another hour later, Bell came outside with his face all red. It took a few minutes to collect himself.

Bell looking down "She is stable right now. I still don't know how to get rid of the problem. I will try more later this afternoon."

At that point, a short goddess with twin ponytails and a lot of cooking equipment came into the hospital. Finn and Raul were helping her with all the cooking equipment. Seeing that his requested equipment had arrived, Bell asked them to set up the cooking equipment right next to Ais' door. After a short while, the potato snacks were cooking, creating a wonderful aroma. When the first ones were ready, Bell took some freshly cooked snacks into Ais' room.

A few minutes later, Bell came outside looking a bit happier.

Bell "She woke up with the smell and ate something. She is sleeping again"

That brought some optimism to the group, though they realized the fundamental problem was not solved.

Riveria "Bell, do you think you can try to spend a little time with Lefiya?"

Bell "Yes, I will go in now"

After Bell went into Lefiya's room, they locked up and waited for any response. Minutes went by, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, half hour, and an hour passed. Still no response from inside. Another 10 minutes later, there was a loud scream of "AHHHHHH, what are you doing!". Then it was all quiet again.

Tiona "That was Lefiya, but it is quiet again"

Riveria "Well, he is definitely having an effect..."

Tiona "What is argonaut doing? I want to try it.", earning a whack on the head with Riveria's staff.

About half an hour later, there were a lot of crying sounds for a while, but then it was quiet again.

Another half hour later, Bell came out really red in the face.

Bell looking down "I believe Lefiya will be able to respond to you again. I believe her difficult situation has passed."

Really happy, everyone went inside.

Riveria "Lefiya, are you alright"

It was hard for Lefiya to talk, but she simply said yes with tears in her eyes. They all went to hug her.

Loki "Are you hungry?"

Lefiya was hungry so they also got her some potato snacks.

All this time, Bell and Lefiya were really red in the face and unable to look at each other. Seeing the strange mood between the two, no one asked about it, even Tiona.

They were just happy that it worked, whatever Bell had to do...


	65. Chapter 65

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Endurance **

While Lefiya ate her snacks, Bell was totally exhausted and was sent off to bed. After Bell left, Loki sent someone to fetch Loki to check on Bell. Then all the girls hugged Lefiya while she continued to cry.

Lefiya crying "She was killed right in front of me ..."

Lefiya sob "I was too weak. I could not protect her. I could do nothing..."

Lefiya sob "It is not fair. He killed her in total cold blood. That monster"

Loki "We will avenge her"

Tiona "I will cut him down, don't you worry"

As least Lefiya could talk after Bell's help, so that was a relief...

\- An Hour Later -

Freya arrived. Seeing Bell's goddess, Loki went to talk to her.

Loki "That love skill seems to exhaust Bell completely. He was able to stabilize Ais and unlock Lefiya from her state. We need more to help Ais"

Freya "I have never seen that skill before. I don't know how it works. I don't know how to ask Bell about it"

Loki "I will ask Lefiya about it. Wait for me"

Freya "No, wait for me. I will check on Bell and check his status. Let's see whether there is anything strange."

\- In Bell's Room -

Freya walked into Bell's room as he just woke up.

Freya gave Bell the update, and the endurance stat took a huge jump. It increased by more than 120 points!

level 5

strength: 87

endurance: 203

agility: 93

dexterity: 79

magic: 351

skill: argonaut, ox slayer, love

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape, magic resistance

Not wanting to pry in what was going on, Freya did not ask for details.

Freya "Little one, your endurance stat took a huge jump. It must use a lot of energy. Why don't you go rest some more before going to Ais"

Bell "Alright Goddess"

\- In Loki's Room at the Hospital -

After the update, Freya went in and closed the door.

Freya "Something is different. His endurance stats went up 120 points in the last 2 days. There has been no battle or physical exertion we know of."

Loki "Well that is odd..."

Freya "Even if they were doing 'that', he is not going to gain 120 points in 2 days."

Loki "There has be more to it than 'that'. Good grief"

Loki "Now let us see what Lefiya is willing to tell us"

\- In Lefiya's Room -

Loki "Bell is very tired. It may be embarrassing, but can you tell me a little bit about how he helped you"

Lefiya turned bright red "It is hard to talk about it..."

Loki "It is important. Bell is helping Ais also, but it is not working as well. We need to help Bell help Ais."

Lefiya steeled herself and collected her thoughts "Thinking about it is very embarrassing. He made me totally trust him. He has a way of having me open up. I told him everything and he told me everything. He knows all my secrets and I know all his secrets. He knows all my deep dark feelings and I know all his deep dark feelings. It is so embarrassing that I cannot even face him right now ..."

Loki "Why does he get so tired. He looked like he was mind-down."

Lefiya "..."

Loki "I will ask it another way. Bell gained 120 points in endurance in the last 2 years and there was no physical battle"

Lefiya looked down "Well part of it is physical intimacy"

Loki's eyes open up wide "Even if there was total intimacy for 2 days continuously, he would not gain 120 points in endurance in 2 days!"

Lefiya was tomato red "..."

Lefiya covered her face with her hands "He made me feeling really close to him. And his hands made me totally relaxed. It was like some type of dream state. I felt loved. I felt he cared a lot. It was really special"

Loki "But it was not magic. His magic stats did not go up."

Lefiya covered face with the pillow "Goddess, it was so special I don't think I can get a husband"

Loki eyes opened even wider "Well, may be we can talk about it some more later"

Having pushed Lefiya hard for answers, Loki allowed her to rest and relax...

\- In Loki Room in Hospital -

Loki to Freya "Well, that was special"

Freya "What has my little one turned into"

Loki "Apparently a total lady killer"

Freya smiled "Did he?"

Loki "Not sure, but there seems like some type of dream state. How exactly is that love, she did not explain. Somehow his hands made her totally relaxed. Not sure which happened first. But magic stats did not go up, so it is a strange skill"

Freya "Is that all? How does it improve the mental condition?"

Loki "Apparently the dream-like relaxed state makes the two people share all secrets and feelings."

Freya "Well, that part makes some sense. So the sharing of secrets and feelings reduces the strain and pain."

Loki "Yes that part makes sense"

Loki "Oh, Lefiya said she cannot get a husband any more"

Freya eyes became wide open "Was it 'that'?"

Loki "I am not sure. But it could be 'that' or something else like the sharing of feelings or both"

Loki "But it does not work well enough for Ais. He has only stabilized her but not cure her of the problem"

Freya "The question is whether they are sharing enough or is the damage too deep that sharing and understanding are not enough"

Loki "Wait, Bell was not aware of Ais being Albert's daughter or that Aria being Ais' mother or how Ais came to my familia."

Freya "That means his skill did not get very far"

Loki "Yes the only thing he mentioned to me was the black flames and lots of confusion."

Freya "So either that was the focus so they did not get to the other stuff or Bell did not get deep enough"

Loki "That is what we can ask Bell. Asking him about the physical part will get us no where..."

Freya "As much as it pains me to say, I need to give my little one his privacy there..."

Loki "What about your charm power?"

Freya "I cannot give that to Bell."

Loki "Hmmm, if Bell's love skill cannot get deep enough, I wonder if your charm and Bell's love can be used at the same time some how. "

Freya "I would need to understand Bell's skill better"

Loki wiggled her eyebrows.

Freya smiled "I guess I have a need to know now"

Loki "Yes you do. And Bell would definitely agree because it is needed to save Ais."

Loki smirked "And you are welcome"

Freya "What is discussed in this room stays in this room"

Loki "Agreed"

The 2 goddesses smiled deviously...


	66. Chapter 66

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

Wow it has been a crazy week or so. Took visitors from Asia all over Los Angeles. Still recovering!

\- An Hour Later -

Bell had enough rest, and he went to spend time with Ais. With freshly cooked potato snacks, he went in the room and closed the door. Crying and sobs could also be behind the doors, but everyone just stayed away not wanting to imagine what was going on inside...

\- The Next Day -

After having convinced Lefiya to get revenge for Filvis, Tiona and Tione took Lefiya to the Gnome library to read into Nidhogg. They were determined to dig into everything Nidhogg.

\- Back at the Hospital -

Bell gave Ais another treatment. He was able to keep Ais stable. There were still lots of crying and sobs, but still was unable to solve the fundamental problem.

\- That Afternoon -

Lefiya and the amazon twins returned to the hospital, but were unable to find any information about Nidhogg at the library. They ran into Bell when they returned. Remember Bell's love for fairy tales, Tiona decided to ask Bell about what he knew about Nidhogg. They were surprised with Bell's answer.

Bell "I remember that 6 great spirits gave their lives to kill Nidhogg."

Tiona "Wow, how did you know that?"

Bell "My grandfather's fairy tale books"

Tione "Your grandfather wrote them?"

Bell "Yes, but I think he is just retelling these stories"

Tiona "Do you know any more details?"

Bell "I believe the great spirits trapped the Nidhogg using a strong barrier. They then used a secret art that destroyed it. But that is all I know."

Satisfied, the girls reported this to Loki"

Loki "Bell knew this? How?"

Tione "He said his grandfather wrote fairy tales that talked about it"

Loki "Interesting grandfather"

Tiona "Bell told me before that his grandfather died"

Loki "Well, the secret art he spoke about is known as the Door of Heaven. So that means putting spirits along a magic circle that uses them as a circuit. That is use to summon a heavenly pillar that is almost as strong as an arcanum."

Tione "Really?"

Loki "Yes, that is the same number of demi spirits in the Kossos we are aware of. A heavenly pillar would definitely be able to totally and completely destroy Orario."

Everyone "So Enyo is going to use this secret art to completely destroy Orario and allow monsters to roam on the surface again..."

\- At the End of the Conversation -

There was suddenly communication from Annakitty from the Beol mountains. Apparently, they had found Demeter and she told them something really important...

After that conversation, Loki had a private conversation with Lefiya in her room, which caused loud screams from Lefiya. Lefiya came out of the room determined to fight, and requested that Loki level her to level 4.

After leveling Lefiya, Loki then had a private conversation with Freya, and they agreed that the Knossos situation could not wait. Thus, they would have to invade the Knossos without help from Ais, who will have to stay in the hospital. However, Loki told Freya that Hermes had set several strategies into motion before leaving for the Beol mountains...

\- At the Knossos -

An alliance of familias started to enter the Knossos, with the assistance of the Xenos. There were 6 separate squadrons of Freya, Loki, Hephaestus, Hermes, Ganesha and even Kali members led by executives of the Loki familia and Freya familia. Team 1 was led by Finn, Tione, Ray and Ilta. Team 2 by Riveria, Tiona and Tsubaki. Team 3 by Gareth, Shakti as well as Argana and Bache of the Kali familia. Team 4 by Ottar, the Gulliver brothers, Bell and Welf. Team 5 by Allen, Hedin and Hogni. Team 6 consisted of the Xenos and Fels. The rear guard included Lefiya, Ryuu, Haruhime, Tammuz, Helun, Aisha, Lili, Asfi and a large number of amazons who accompanied Loki and Freya. Loki and Freya also had Mia Grand and Bete as their personal guards. A hostage rescue team was led by Raul, Alicia and Loki familia members.

Using flags made of spirit items, they were able to counter the green flesh and penetrated deep into the Knossos. The 6 main teams reached the demi spirits room on the 10th floor and were shocked to find spirit altars that were huge pillars of green flesh more than 50 meters high with large flowers and tentacles. Near their bases were three huge faces consisting of a happy face, an angry face, and a sad face. Apparently, the demi spirits had parasitized a Grand Treant, an enormous tree monster.

As each team battled a spirit altar, the fight was very difficult. Most teams were having more trouble with the spirit altars, as each face was able to attack with a different magic. Nevertheless, Ottar and Bell were having a lot more success as Welf was able to use will-o-wisp to constantly stop the spirit altar's magic use.

As the battle continued, the hostage rescue team located members of the Demeter familia, and also discovered a huge black dragon that was starting to activate. The activation was apparently fed by the powers of the 6 spirit altars that were turning black with cracks showing crimson light inside. When this was reported to Loki and Freya, they immediately realized that the enemy was trying to bring Nidhogg back as the Nidhogg demi spirit using the powers of the 6 demi spirits. With no one else available to fight, Finn sent Ray to carry Bell to the room with the Nidhogg demi spirit. While the grand bell rang, Raul and his teams members protected Bell as he charged. Bell's grand bell strengthened the morale of all the adventurers. That helped all 6 teams gain the upper hand over their spirit altars.

However, Ein started to attack the rear guard and dropped the first half of the group onto the 12th floor using a pitfall trap. Bete jumped in after them but was unable to return when the pitfall trap door closed. Thus Bete, Lefiya, Ryuu, Aisha, Haruhime, Asfi and the group of amazons were faced with Ein and a large group of monsters. As Bete, Ryuu, Aisha and Asfi battled the violas and other monsters, Lefiya had something to say to Ein.

Angry Lefiya "Filvis, why did you break my heart?"

Ein "..."

The remaining members of the rear guard including Mia, Tammuz, Lili and Helun continued to protect Loki and Freya. As Lili assisted Finn in relaying commands over the various teams, the group headed towards the location that Dionysus was thought to have been killed. There, they found Enyo.

Loki "Dionysus, stop hiding behind that mask, you scum"

At that point, Freya smiled at the masked figure Loki called Dionysus...


	67. Chapter 67

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Victory**

\- In the Room with the Nidhogg Demi Spirit -

After 5 minutes of charging, Bell launched an enormous firebolt attack at the Nidhogg demi spirit through his 2 twin blades. The brilliant white magic attack instantly killed the Nidhogg demi spirit in one shot, leaving behind an enormous magic stone.

Raul immediately reported to all the teams that Bell had killed the Nidhogg demi spirit.

\- With Ottar and Welf -

With Welf's continued magic disruption, Ottar finished off the demi spirit. He then sent Welf and the Gulliver brothers to assist Finn's group while he headed for Allen's group.

\- With Finn's Group -

Finn's group already had gained an advantage, and Welf's magic disruption then really helped. Finn and Tione soon killed off their demi spirit. Tione, Welf and the Gulliver bothers headed to assist Gareth's group while Finn went to check on Loki and Freya.

\- With Allen's Group -

With Ottar's arrival, the Freya executives quickly defeated with Allen's speed and Ottar's strength. With the demi spirit finished off, Ottar then headed to check on Freya as the other executives went to assist Riveria's group.

\- With the Xenos and Fels -

While the grand bell made Asterius want to fight his rival, Fels and his fellow Xenos convinced him to continue the battle. They soon then destroyed their demi spirit also.

\- With Gareth's Group -

The demi spirit was giving them a good fight, but Welf's magic disruption again made a huge difference. That allowed Gareth, Tione, Argana and Bache to take out the 3 faces, and then the demi spirit.

\- With Riveria's Group -

With Allen and the other Freya executives joining the battle, Riveria was able to launch Wynn Fimbulvetr at the demi spirit. After which, the Allen and Tiona jumped in and shattered the frozen monster into small pieces.

\- In the Room with Filvis, Lefiya and Others -

Bete, Ryuu, Aisha, Asfi and the group of amazons were battling with a large number of monsters while Filvis talked to Ein. To assist the fight, Haruhime had boosted Bete, Ryuu, Aisha and Asfi.

Angry Lefiya "Filvis, why did you break my heart?"

Ein "..."

Lefiya then explained how she knew Filvis was Ein. At that point, Ein removed the mask showing Filvis underneath.

Filvis "I did not want you to die so I tricked you."

Lefiya "Your so-called death devastated me. It took something ridiculous to save me."

Filvis "That was the only way out. I did not know how else to protect you."

At that point, the grand bell stopped ringing and they heard a loud explosion. With Raul's report of Bell's success, Lefiya offered Filvis another chance.

Lefiya "We know Dionysus is Enyo. Abandon this insane endeavor and your insane god who wants to bring the darkness back"

Filvis then explained that she was no longer the same Filvis and that the corrupted spirit had turned her into a creature like Revis. Filvis then told Lefiya that Dionysus is the only one who told her that he would still love her as a creature.

Filvis "Do you still think I am pure and beautiful?", pointing to a 2nd Filvus.

At that point, Filvis and a second Revis merged together to turn into the creature, showing Lefiya Filvis creature's magic stone.

Lefiya "..."

Filvis "See I told you so"...

\- With Loki, Freya and Dionysus -

Freya smiled at Dionysus, which froze him.

Loki smiled "I knew you would come in handy"

Freya "Now Dionysus, you will tell us what you are doing"

Under charm, Dionysus then told the 2 goddesses how much he hated Ouranos for sealing the dungeon and how he missed the surface dwellers despairing over the monsters. He also confirmed what he wanted was not to destroy Orario, but to kill the adventurers who prevented the monsters from coming to the surface. And his plan was to form the Nidhogg demi spirit which used an unnamed dragon from the depths of the dungeon. Finally the god who was killed was Penia, and the former Dionysus adventurers were transferred to Penia to fool the other gods.

At that point, Loki could not stomach any more when she remember Dionysus acting sad at the grave of his familia members. She started beating up Dionysus and kicked him many times where it really hurts. The intense beating managed to snap Dionysus out of the charm. With his last opportunity, Dionysus grasped the blade he used before on Penia on himself to avoid the humiliation of capture. With that pillar of light, everyone knew something big happened. By that point, Finn and Ottar arrived, as well as Bell who was carried by Ray.

As the teams have all done their jobs, Filvis was the remaining matter. The allied familia members then converged on Lefiya and Filvis. Surrounded, Filvis knew she had no options, especially after losing a lot of power when Dionysus returning to heaven.

Lefiya "Filvis, please surrender. You still have a choice. Don't throw everything away."

Filvis "I don't have any choice now, do I"

Filvis then gave herself up, and everyone went back to the surface together. Filvis was delivered by Shakti, Lefiya, Finn and Riveria to the guild with her hands binded together. The interrogation would start the next day.

With the mission totally successful, Bell went back to the hospital with Loki and Freya to check on Ais. Bell was tired from the use of grand bell argonaut, so Freya gave him 2 small kisses on the cheek to congratulate him on the victory. And then Bell was ordered to sleep after some potions and an update of his stats that looked like a mage.

After Bell woke up, Loki and Freya told Bell that they need to have a talk about Ais.

Freya "Little one, I know you want to help Ais..."

level 5

strength: 121

endurance: 289

agility: 134

dexterity: 115

magic: 650

skill: argonaut, ox slayer, love

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape, magic resistance


	68. Chapter 68

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Charming**

With the Knossos mission totally successful, Loki and Freya went to talk to Bell about Ais.

Freya "Little one, I know you want to help Ais..."

Bell "Yes I do"

Loki "Has Ais told you much more in the last few sessions?"

Bell "Not really. She is too focused on the black flames. I am able to help her feel a little better but the thought of those black flames ... seems like it is still overwhelming her"

Loki "Do you think she will be stable and safe"

Bell "I am not sure. I am able to keep her stable for now. I do know that more fighting will make it worse"

Loki "Well, she is definitely NOT going into battle any time soon"

Bell "Yes that would be good."

Worried Loki "What do you think she would do if the dark powers get stronger. Could they take over her mind?"

Bell "I am afraid to think. But it could well trigger all her powers and become more powerful. She could become very dangerous and hurt a lot of people. "

Sad Loki "I see, so the sword princess may have to retire to keep her from going to the dark side"

Sad Bell "... That may be the case ..."

Freya "Little one, you are aware of my charm powers"

Bell blushed "Yes I am"

Freya "If i use my charm powers while you use your special powers, we may be able to make more progress and help Ais better?"

Bell blushed "But..."

...

Freya "Is something wrong?"

Bell "No, I want to help Ais"

Loki "Is it embarrassing?"

Bell "Yes it is very embarrassing"

Freya "Well, I need to be there to help her. I need to see her eye to eye"

Bell "I understand"

Loki "Alright, Bell, you have my approval to do whatever you need. Please save her"

Bell "Goddess Loki, I understand and will do my best"

Loki "I will leave it in your hands and let you talk in private"

Freya "For me to help, I need to understand more about your love skill."

Freya "In particular, I need to know how you use it"

Bell blushed like a tomato and started explaining, which made Freya's eyes opened wide...


	69. Chapter 69

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Charm and Love**

The embarrassed Bell explained his powers to Freya, who was surprised.

...

Freya "Well, Little one, you know that I would have to be intimately involved with this."

Bell looking down "Goddess, I respect you the most so how can I ask you to be involved in such an outrage"

Freya "That is fine. I want you to be happy and Ais is so very important to you"

Bell bowed "Goddess, thank you for helping Ais and all your sacrifices."

Freya "That is fine again. I will watch you first and then use my powers when it is the right time"

They then walked over to Ais' room. Seeing Freya and Bell, Loki, Riveria, Lefiya, the twins, Finn and others left to allow them the flexibility to do whatever they needed to do"

...

After about 10 minutes, Ais' cries, screams and sobs could be heard. Suddenly, it got very quiet for a long time. Then,

Ais sobbing "Bell, thank you..."

Ais sobbing "Goddess Freya, thank you..."

Then it was mostly quiet again though it was obvious they were talking softly inside.

Loki, Riveria, Lefiya, the twins and the others were using all their self-control not to eavesdrop inside. After another 10 minutes...

Loki "This is killing me. What is going on..."

Riveria "We need to let them try their best..."

Loki "Well at least this definitely sounds different so there may be progress"

Finn "Goddess, we must keep our cool and maintain our composure. We gave them the flexibility, we cannot change now."

Sad Lefiya "This is killing me too"

Tiona "Come on, little argonaut"

Another hour passed before Bell and Freya came outside.

Freya announced "Ais is awake. There has been progress, but she is not cured"

Loki "Thanks Freya"

Riveria and Finn bowed to Freya to thank her, as did Lefiya and the twins.

Freya "You can go to talk her now. She is significantly better"

Freya then led everyone into the room. Ais was still in tears, but she was better when Freya gave her a lap pillow and stroked her hair. While that was a strange scene, no one thought much about it and was happy to see visible improvement.

Loki "Ais, how are you feeling"

Ais "The goddess and Bell helped me feel a lot better. I still have trouble focusing but I can think more clearly now"

Riveria "Ais, you have nothing to worry about other than getting better. We are your family and we are all behind you"

Ais "Thanks momma"

Shocked that she was called momma by Ais, Riveria was speechless, as was Finn and Loki and everyone else.

After a while, Bell took turns with Freya in giving Ais a lap pillow and petting her on the head...


	70. Chapter 70

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!

**Nourish with Love**

After talking to Ais as she received lap pillows from Freya and Bell, the Loki executives were relieved and smiles returned to their faces. As the children continued to talk, Freya and Loki left the room.

Loki "You have a scary smile on your face"

Freya smiled "I must admit, I am addicted"

Melancholy Loki "I am so jealous"

Freya smiled "Yes I can understand why"

Loki "You are killing me, so spill it"

Freya smiled "Spill what?"

Loki "What is this skill? How much fun did you have"

Freya "As for your second question, I already said I am addicted" stabbing Loki in the heart.

Freya continued "As for the skill, it is just as the name indicated. Love, the ability to share love with another. The more intense love the person has, the more love that is shared"

Loki cut to the chase "How is said love shared?"

Freya "By words, by physical means, by passion, by intimacy with skin contact"

Loki has a flying nosebleed "I am so jealous"

That brought a rare laugh out of Freya.

Freya "On to more serious matters, your child has suffered terribly. I don't think she can adventure again."

Sad Loki "That was what I was afraid to hear, but I now just hope that she can lead a normal life"

Freya "So I will give you a bit more. Bell's love skill was not enough to get through to Ais' deep dark secrets. That is when I came in with charm to force her to open up. When she did a little, the love went in and conquered her."

Loki with terrible visions of unspeakable things "Those metaphors are killing me..."

Freya "The result is that we learned about how her parents died. And how much she suffered. How she became so intensely focused on killing monsters. On her hatred of monsters. On her hatred in the form of black flames that can consume her and the world. You do realize she will try to take her mother back even if the flames will consume her"

Loki "Yes I do. And after this, we cannot allow her to fight again."

Freya "Well, we will take the dragon and we will do it without her"

Loki "As I feared, but I hope you can take the dragon without her help"

Freya "I think we will, but that is for the future. For now, Ais must retire, at least until her black flames are extinguished. These sessions must continue. The black flames are greatly reduced but not extinguished."

Loki "Do you know more?"

Freya "Yes, I can see the power of the black flames. Her power can grow exponentially with the hatred. Fortunately, Bell's love can control her hatred and nourish her with love."

Loki "I understand. We saw that coming but you have confirmed it"

As they walked back towards Ais' room, Freya had some more.

Freya whispered in Loki's ear with a smile, causing a massive nosebleed...


	71. Chapter 71

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!

**Retirement**

While walking back to Ais' room, Freya whispered something in Loki's ear, causing a large reaction.

Loki quietly to Freya "You killed me" causing Freya to smile as they walked inside. Everyone was happily talking to Ais, who was clinging to Bell and Riveria, making the elf uncomfortably happy.

Finn "Well, it is good to see Ais able to talk to us"

Ais "Yes, I am sorry I worried everyone"

Riveria in bliss "The result is worth it"

Loki frowned "Momma, I don't think I have ever seen you so happy", making Riveria blush.

Tiona "When can Ais go home?"

Loki "She is better but not cured", which made the mood in the room more depressed again.

Lefiya "What does that mean, Loki?"

Loki "Exactly as I said. Freya and Bell were able to pull her out of the mess, but we cannot afford a relapse. I am going to be real strict about this"

Ais "What about training?"

Loki "Even training. We will take one tiny-step at a time. We will take no chances. We almost lost you"

Freya "Bell, you are exhausted, as I am. You need to sleep now, and I need rest also until the next session this evening. "

Airmid entered at this point, happy to see Ais awake and in good spirits.

Airmid "Great, a good recovery"

Freya "Airmid, do you have a spare room? I am really tired"

Airmid "Sure, goddess. Come follow me", as the two walked out.

Loki "Ok, everyone, let's give Ais a chance to rest", making Bell sad.

Ais "Bell, please stay with me?"

Bell "Sure Ais", causing many knowing looks...

After the pair was allowed to sleep in the room, Loki went off to the Twilight Manor with Finn, Riveria and Gareth. Lefiya went to the guild with the twins to check on Filvis.

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Loki met in private with the Finn, Riveria and Gareth.

Finn "That was a miracle. Loki, what really happened?"

Loki "Bell's skill and Freya's charm were used together to pull Ais out of her situation."

Loki "Let me see. How did Freya put it... Oh yes - Bell's love skill was not enough to get through to Ais' deep dark secrets. That is when I came in with charm to force her to open up. When she did a little, the love went in and conquered her."

The room was very quiet for a long time while that sank in before Finn broke the silence.

Finn "Freya did one over you, didn't she?"

Loki "To be fair, she saved Ais. Remember I was ready to return to heaven. Without her help, Ais may never be able to live a normal live. But to be honest, that is what we are fighting for now"

Worried Riveria "Loki, what do you mean by that?"

Loki "That means Ais is going to have to retire until further notice", making the room very sad and completely quiet for a long time.

Gareth "So the condition is that bad"

Loki "Yes, it is not cured. They lowered the black flames a lot, but it can erupt again. The consequences could be catastrophic. Freya said her powers could grow exponentially with the hatred from her past."

Riveria "What are we going to do"

Loki "We are going to do exactly what Freya and Bell tell us"

Gareth "Helpless is not a good feeling"

Finn "Indeed, but we have to do what is best for Ais"

Loki "I do not know how to tell Ais. That is why I said a mini-step at a time. We have to give her hope, but we need to buy time as they continue try to treat her"

Finn "Understood. We will do what is best for Ais"

Riveria "We need to tell the twins and Lefiya"

Loki "The twins can handle the truth but I am worried about Lefiya"

Finn "Me too, but we need their help"

\- At the Guild -

Lefiya and the twins went to see Filvis. The interrogation was ongoing by Shakti, Ganesha, Asfi and Hermes while her hands were binded...


	72. Chapter 72

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!

**Humble Pie**

\- At the Guild -

Lefiya and the twins went to see Filvis who was being interrogated by Shakti, Ganesha, Asfi and Hermes. They waited outside until it was done. Filvis seemed to handle herself well and did not break down. Afterwards, Asfi and Hermes came out and saw Lefiya and the twins.

Hermes "Thousand Elf, please tell Loki that we must meet soon. Our troubles are not over. Not at all."

Lefiya "Yes sir"

After Asfi and Hermes left, they went to the room that Filvis was held at with multiple guards outside. Lefiya was allowed to go inside, as was Tiona and Tione.

Lefiya "Hi Filvis, how did that go"

Filvis "As well as could be expected. They are really worried now."

Tiona "Why? Enyo was defeated. Demi spirits are killed"

Filvis "The corrupted spirit is able to create more jewel fetus, and there are more like me"

All "WHAT!"

Filvis "Revis was the former captain of the Astraea familia. I am not sure of the number, but several others from that familia survived to become creatures also."

That made everyone quiet, even Tiona...

\- At Ais' Hospital Room -

Freya, Bell and Ais started the session. It went on for about an hour. At the end of the session, Bell wanted to talk.

Bell looking really embarrassed "Ais, with what we are doing, I want to ...", causing Ais to blush crimson red and faint...

...

"- At the Twilight Manor -

Loki, Finn, Riveria and Gareth were just wrapping up their meeting.

Finn "Loki, is there something you have not told us"

Loki "..."

Riveria "Loki?"

Loki "... well there is one more thing..."

...

Loki "Well I guess you should know. Freya said one more thing to me right before we rejoined everyone"

...

Finn "Loki?"

Loki "... well she said - You asked me how much fun I had. Well, the truth is that I had enough fun to last all eternity. I can return to heaven now and be satisfied."

Finn "Wow"

Riveria "Freya had fun with you also"

Loki "Well, she earned it, but yes I am her play thing now..."

Gareth "The trickster in the palm of the goddess of beauty..."

Loki "Gareth, do you have to rub salt in my wounds!"

Embarrassed Gareth "Sorry..."

Loki "Yes Freya is enjoying it, but she is really helping. So I cannot complain but suck it up and take it"

Finn "Never I thought I would see the day..."

Riveria "Well, Loki, it is a very good thing you are doing for Ais. I am proud of you"

Loki "... Well I am enjoying my share of humble pie ..."

Finn "To be honest, Freya is actually having fun with all of us at this point..."

Riveria "Yes, she has all of us having nightmares about what is going on inside that room!"

Gareth "Well, humble pie it is, and it is delicious as long as Ais get better!"

At that point, someone knocked on the door...


	73. Chapter 73

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!

**We May Have a Problem**

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Lefiya, Tiona and Tione went to report the shocking news about the creatures to Loki and others. That of course gave everyone a massive headache.

Loki "So there may be multiple Revis equivalents. And the corrupted spirit can create more jewel fetus"

Finn "It took Bell, Ais with her dark powers and Riveria to destroy the Revis demi spirit."

Riveria "What I dont understand is why they dont just come up from the dungeon and put us out of our misery"

Loki "May be they are playing with the prey like a cat and mouse game"

Finn "Well, it depends on how many creatures they have. If it is a small number, then we can win"

Loki "If it is a small number, then they should have used all their aces in the same battle. That makes me think they have more than a couple. Or a lot more than a couple. I think Astraea familia had more than 10 second class adventurers"

Riveria "May be the creatures are not yet as strong as Revis. We know they consume magic stones to gain power. There could be a limited supply of the highest quality ones"

Finn "Perhaps we need to get involved in the talks with Filvis"

Loki "When is the next interrogation?"

Lefiya "Tomorrow at 9 in the morning"

Loki "Finn, Riveria, Gareth, let's go. Lefiya, do you want to attend?"

Lefiya "Yes I would. I definitely would"

\- At Ais' Hospital Room -

After Ais woke up, she agreed to Bell's request while being tomato red, making Freya completely speechless with a little blush...

After some time passed, Freya had a lot of things to talk with Bell, and then gave him an update showing progress in his endurance from his use of love.

level 5

strength: 122

endurance: 366

agility: 134

dexterity: 115

magic: 650

skill: argonaut, ox slayer, love

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape, magic resistance

\- A Few Hours Later -

Loki and her executives went to visit Ais. Bell and Freya were already in Ais' room.

Ais "Hi everyone, thanks for checking on me"

Riveria "How is the princess feeling today?"

Ais "I feel like I am getting stronger"

Finn "Bell, how are you?"

Bell "I am doing well, thanks Finn"

Loki then told Freya, Ais and Bell about the creatures and the jewel fetus continuing to be an issue...

Afterward the discussion, Bell looking at the Loki executives "There is also something I would like to talk to you all about"

Loki "Yes, Bell, is there something we can do for you?"

With Ais looking down, a pale-looking Bell said something that caused Loki, Lefiya, Riveria and Finn to faint...

Freya "Oh my"...

\- going on roadtrip to san francisco, so today has 3 short chapters. may not be any updates for a few days, we shall see -


	74. Chapter 74

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!

**The Big Question**

\- At Ais' Hospital Room -

Following the bad news regarding more creatures and jewel fetus, Bell had something vital to ask the Loki executives.

While Ais was looking down tomato red, Bell bravely asked "I would like your permission to marry Ais"

After Loki, Lefiya, Riveria and Finn had time to recover from fainting, Bell continued "I am sorry to surprise you like that, but as you know, Ais and I have gotten a lot closer. It is not right if we are not married. I love her and she is my idol. She is the reason I work so hard so I can stand by her side. So I would like your permission to marry her."

After complete silence for a while, Loki stuttering "Ais ... is this ... what ... you ... want?"

Ais nodded her head while completely unable to look them in the eye.

Loki in tears looking at Bell "Very well, you have my blessing"

Riveria then came forward to hug Bell despite her high elf status "Congratulations Bell, you have my blessing also"

After that, Bell got on one-knee to make the official proposal.

Tomato red Bell "Ais, I love you with all my heart. I would like to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to make you happy and grow old together. I will do my very best to take care of you and protect you. Will you marry me?"

Tomato red Ais "Yes Bell, I would like that very much"

After that, Tiona then started wildly jumping up and down screaming "Argonaut and Ais are getting married!", forcing Tione to shut her up by force...

Lefiya was in tears but she hugged Ais to congratulate her. After a long hug between all the Loki girls, the Loki executives had a lot of questions.

Loki "Bell, so when do you want the wedding?"

Bell "Well, we are going to wait for my 16th birthday. We want to enjoy a long engagement and it would allow time for us to handle the creatures and other problems."

Finn "Alright Bell, congrats but don't let our adventures hold back your life with Ais. But I certainly understand why you want to wait for your 16th birthday"

The girls then gave Bell a big girl hug, even Lefiya...

After the happy talk, Bell had one other question for the Loki executives.

Bell "I have a difficult request. My goddess and I need to spend a lot of time with Ais. It would probably be best if Ais stays at the Folkvangr during this time."

Tears instantly came out of the executives as the reality of the new union hit home. Even Finn and Gareth had watery eyes, but they soon steeled their resolve.

Loki "We will do whatever is good for Ais"

Freya "From now on, we will make 5 guest rooms available to you and your familia. You can come and go as you please once we handle the logistics."

Finn "Goddess, that is very generous of you. We will definitely take you up on the offer"

Riveria in tears "Goddess Freya, we are in your debt."

Loki "Freya, I will also make guest rooms available for you and your familia at the Twilight Manor. There are plenty of rooms so just let us know what you need"

Freya continued "Thank you Loki. Now we are going to celebrate their official engagement. The party will be in 10 days at the Folkvangr."

Loki to Freya "I cannot believe it, but we are going to be in-laws", as the 2 goddesses commiserated on their losses.

At that point, Tiona and Tione grabbed Bell and made a demand "Alright argonaut-kun, you and Ais are now an official couple with permission from the goddesses. Now you need to fill us on the good stuff. Like what is the deal with your love skill. What is going on in that room!?", turning Bell and Ais into crimson red tomatoes...

\- had time for this update before going on the roadtrip to san francisco -


	75. Chapter 75

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!

Had a little time on my trip...

**Moving**

\- At Ais' Hospital Room -

As Loki to Freya commiserated on losing their favorites, Tiona and Tione demanded that Bell come clean with love and what happened in the room.

Bell "How can I say anything? My goddess' privacy is sacred!"

Tione pouted "That is a lame excuse"

Tiona pouted "Did you do 'that'?"

Confused Bell "That?"

Ais wide-eyed "What is that?"

Tione "I guess they did not do that..."

At that point, Lefiya jumped in.

Lefiya "That is enough! Too much information" and started chanting arcs ray.

As the 2 amazons jumped on Lefiya to stop the chant, Freya guided Bell from the room with a smile on her face. Afterwards, Ais simply pouted when the 2 amazons made any inquiry.

\- The Next Day at the Guild -

Loki, Riveria, Finn, Gareth and Lefiya were in the interrogation room at 9 in the morning. Hermes, Asfi, Shakti and Ganesha were there again, though Ganesha was soon called away to attend to some matter. At that point, Fels came in to join the process.

Hermes "Look at who is here today, it is a full house!"

Loki "If you do not behave, you are going to be punished"

Asfi "I agree!"

Hermes whined "I have been betrayed again"

Finn "Filvis, so you became a creature when the corrupted spirit modified your body?"

Filvis "Yes, the plant-based powers give me rapid regeneration. It is hard to kill me without destroying my magic stone"

Riveria "So Revis is the former captain of the Astraea familia"

Filvis "Yes"

Gareth "How many more creatures are you aware of?"

Filvis "I have seen several from a distance. I believe at least 3 and probably more not including Revis"

Finn "How powerful are they?"

Filvis "I believe they were weaker than me at that time. May be 1-2 equivalent levels lower"

Loki "Why were they weaker? The Astraea familia had 9 level 4 and 3 level 3. They should be as strong or stronger than you?"

Filvis "I became a creature first, so I got the benefit of one year of magic stones. Then when they became creatures, Revis got the priority for magic crystals in their group since she was the strongest. There is a limit number of the most powerful magic crystals"

Hermes "How many magic crystals they have to eat to get more powerful?"

Filvis "I was roughly equivalent of a level 7 so I gained about 4 levels worth of power from eating magic crystals. Eating crystals from virga would not make much of a difference at that level. Even valgang dragons. If they consume the crystals of a demi spirit, then there would be a difference. Revis did that once, and so did I."

Riveria "What power level are you now?"

Filvis "I am roughly a level 4 since Dionysus returned to heaven"

Loki "What if you received another falna?"

Filvis "I believe I would be back to level 7"

Hermes "Where is the corrupted spirit?"

Filvis "Usually deeper than floor 65"

Lefiya "So you have been that deep?"

Filvis "I have been down to floor 66"

Finn "How powerful is the corrupted spirit?"

Filvis "I have never seen it use its powers, but I believe it was a great spirit. So very powerful plant based powers."

Shakti "What does the corrupted spirit want?"

Filvis "She wants to return to the surface. She was injured in the ancient past and became half monster. She wants monsters to run free on the surface when she returns"

Shakti "Why?"

Filvis "I am not sure, but it has to do with how she was injured and what she was doing in the dungeon"

Finn "What do you want to do now if given a choice?"

Filvis "I have not thought about it. The only person I know is Lefiya"

Riveria "Why did you do all those things to hurt people"

Filvis "I was following orders from Dionysus. He was the only one who cared about me after I became a creature"

Loki "But Dionysus is now gone"

Filvis "Yes, now I have no goals or plans"

Hermes "Did you think what you did was wrong?"

Filvis "Yes I understand that. But I cared about Dionysus because he was the only one who cared about me and accepted me after I became a creature"

Gareth "But you would have hurt Lefiya and she cared you"

Filvis "I was torn between Dionysus' orders and Lefiya. I tried to trick her to think that I was killed so she would not try to help me."

Lefiya "But do you know what that did to me?"

Filvis "No, I was hoping that you would be very sad and unable to fight. I thought that Dionysus could succeed so I was trying to protect you."

Lefiya "I was a human zombie barely alive and unable to move forward I was mentally destroyed and it required something ridiculous to save me that will stay with me forever. I will never be the same as those memories will haunt me forever and it would be impossible to share real love with anyone new"

Filvis "I am sorry Lefiya. I tried to protect you as well as I could without betraying Dionysus."

Loki "If you are allowed to leave this situation after punishment, what would you do?"

Filvis "I really do not know. I have no goals, no aspirations, no familia, no ideals, no dreams. I am like a walking dead person, which I am. I tried to kill myself but was unable to due to regeneration."

Loki "What do you think of the corrupted spirit?"

Filvis "I hate her. She used me. She turn my life into this living hell."

Asfi "What other types of monsters are below?"

Filvis "There are powerful dragons similar to the one Dionysus used for the demi spirit. However most are less powerful as those black ones are very very rare"

Hermes "Anything else?"

Filvis "Not that I am aware of. Revis went deeper than I did because I coordinated more Dionysus on the surface. When I split up, I am too weak for the deep level monsters.

Loki "So what do you want to do now?"

Filvis "Well, I felt loyalty to Dionysus, but he is gone. So I do not have any plans. The only person I know now is Lefiya. I know what I did is totally unacceptable so I await whatever punishment you decide on"

...

They soon adjourned for the day.

\- Later That Afternoon -

It was time for Ais' release from the hospital. Ais and Bell went to the Twilight Manor to pick up her stuff.

The Loki familia members were there to see Ais with watery eyes, who had a special treat for Loki ...


	76. Chapter 76

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!

\- At the Twilight Manor -

When Bell and Ais went to pick up her stuff, Ais had a special treat for Loki. For the surprise, they went into Loki's chamber in private.

Ais "Loki, I know I have punished you often. But I do care for you"

Loki smiled "I like the sound of this!"

Ais "Well, I cannot think of any gift to get you. But I will hug you for a long long time tonight to tell you how much I love my goddess"

Shocked Loki "OMG!", bringing a blush to her unlikely cheeks.

True to her words, Ais gave Loki a lap pillow, and petted her in the hair"

Loki thought "This is too good to be true... This is too good to be true..." with the biggest grin ever.

Seeing the closeness between the two, Bell left the room and went to one of the rooms that Loki made available to Freya members.

After Bell left, Ais gave Loki a hug and held on tight as they closed their eyes.

\- The Next Morning -

Loki had to get up early for another interrogation session for Filvis. As Loki, Riveria, Finn, Gareth and Lefiya headed out, Bell and Ais also left with her items for the Folkvangr.

Finn "Loki, you seem to be in such a good mood"

Blissful Loki "I am!"

Riveria "What happened"

Happy Loki "Ais showed me her appreciation last night. Hugged me all night!"

Jealous Lefiya thought "I did not get anything!"

Riveria "No wonder you got that extra giddy up in your step"

Loki "I can die happy now when I go back to heaven"

Riveria "Don't joke about such things"

Loki "Wonder what she will give me for her engagement party?"

Finn laughed as Riveria rolled her eyes. The entire time, Lefiya was steamed jealously about the lack of attention from Ais...

\- At the Guild -

Loki, Finn, Riveria, Gareth and Lefiya arrived at the interrogation room. Hermes and Asfi were already there, as well as Shakti. There were additional familias attending today, including Freya with Ottar and Hephaestus and Tsubaki.

Loki "Perfect, exactly the two I wanted to talk to", pulling Freya and Hephaestus into a private office for a talk...

\- About Half an Hour Later -

The 3 goddesses returned to attend the interrogation.

Freya "You were about level 7 in power before Dionysus returned to heaven. What power level are you roughly at now?"

Filvis "level 4"

Freya "And you would be at what level if you received a falna?"

Filvis "I should be back to level 7"

Freya "Revis was the former captain of the Astraea familia, and multiple former members have also turned into creatures?"

Filvis "I think there are at least 3"

Freya "And you think they were less powerful than you before due to the amount of high level magic crystals available"

Filvis "Yes, they seemed 1-2 levels below me before when I saw them"

Freya "And magic crystals of typical monsters would barely make a difference. Even the new types of monsters like virga."

Filvis "Yes"

Freya "And it took consuming the magic crystal of a demi spirit to significantly improve your power level when you reached your most powerful point"

Filvis "Yes"

Freya "There are powerful dragons lower in the dungeon, but there are very very few black ones."

Filvis "Yes"

Freya "What do you want to do now?"

Filvis "Well, I do not know. I served Dionysus before, but he is gone. I have no plans besides waiting for whatever punishment you decide on."

Freya "The only person you know now is Lefiya"

Filvis "Yes, everyone in my former familia died"

...

Afterwards the goddesses gathered again in private to discuss Loki's plan.

\- At the Folkvangr -

Bell and Ais arrived with her personal stuff. They settled in after her stuff were dropped off in her new room, which is next to Bell's room. But Bell had a surprise for Ais...


	77. Chapter 77

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!

After interrogating Filvis, the gods met to discuss what to do with Filvis.

Loki "We can all tell, she is telling the truth"

Freya "You want to give the creature a falna?"

Loki "Well, it may not even work. And she may be weaker than before"

Hermes "I kind of like the idea. Adding a potential level 7 power to our side would be important. Especially important if there are multiple creatures still in the dungeon"

Ganesha "I am Ganesha"

Freya "I can go along with it if she passes the next interrogation"

Loki "I will get Ouranos and Hephaestus to agree before doing anything"

Freya "Let us meet at 2 in the afternoon at the guild. Can you bring Hephaestus?"

Loki "We have a deal"

\- At the Folkvangr -

Bell had a surprise for Ais, an engagement ring, causing Ais to blush and faint.

After Ais woke up, she was in tears and really happy.

Ais "Bell, I will be a burden to you. I may not be able to fight any more"

Bell "Ais, you helped me all this time. It is time for me to take care of you", the sweet talk made mini-As roll around in ecstasy.

They shared a teary kiss...

\- That Afternoon at the Guild -

All the gods gathered and approached Ouranos' chamber. As the guards move to stop them, Freya smiled at the guards.

Ouranos "Well you could have made an appointment", after which they walked in.

Loki "We presume you are aware of Filvis being a creature of level 7 powers, and that she lost half those power when Dionysus returned to heaven?"

Ouranos "Yes, so what do you want to do with her?"

Loki "We are able to confirm she is telling the truth, and I am interested in giving her a falna"

Ouranos "If you can confirm her sincerity, I can support that"

Freya "Well, that was easy"

Hephaestus "You sure she will not betray us again?"

Hermes "She was obeying her god before."

Ganesha "I am Ganesha"...

Ouranos "Please take him out of my chambers"

Loki "Sorry for the headache. We appreciate your support"...

\- In Filvis' Interrogation Room -

Loki "Filvis, you said before you have no goals at this time"

Filvis "I do not"

Freya "What do you care about?"

Filvis "Almost everything I cared about has been taken away from me. The only one remaining is Lefiya"

Loki "Would you protect Lefiya?"

Filvis "Certainly"

Freya "You hate the corrupted spirit?"

Filvis "Yes, I hate her"

Hermes "What do you think of Orario?"

Filvis "I do not have much feelings about Orario?"

Loki "What about the dungeon?"

Filvis "It is just the dungeon"

Loki "If I give you the opportunity, would you lend us your strength and protect Lefiya?"

Filvis "Yes, but I lost a lot of my abilities"

Loki "I can try to give that back to you if you accept my falna"

Filvis "You would do that after what happened?"

Loki "Yes, but it may not work"

Filvis "But I am an ugly creature"

Loki "Sure you are a creature but you are not ugly. And that is all fine with me"

Filvis "I want to protect Lefiya and I will do what I can"

Loki "There is some risk"

Filvis "That is fine."

Loki looked at the other gods, and they gave her their approval. Loki then gave Filvis her falna, which appeared to work. With the big development, everyone agreed to follow Loki back to the Twilight Manor.

Loki "Filvis, we are going to try out your falna, are you ready?

Filvis "Yes goddess"

Loki then had Finn, Gareth, Bete, Tiona and Tione join the group outside. Each were going to get a chance to test Filvis' strength...

Suddenly, there was a scream from inside the Twilight Manor...


	78. Chapter 78

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!

I took some time off. Will continue this series, though am quite a bit busier than before...

Loki and the other gods wanted to test Filvis's new abilities against 1st class adventurers from the Loki familia. As they were going to start, there was a scream from inside the Twilight Manor. Being the quickest, Bete and Finn both raced inside to find out what happened.

Finn and Bete discovered a lot of hysterical Loki members when Ais and Bell came back to say her 'good byes'. With all the screams and crying, people would think something worse happened...

Bete "You idiots scared us half to death"

Annakitty "Shut up Bete. We have feelings unlike you"

Bete "You think I want Ais to leave? I just dont freak out like you people"

By then Tiona and Tione caught up.

Tiona looking mischievous "Bete, so you are going to miss Ais?"

Bete could not look straight at Tiona while answering "Of course I am"

Tione teased "Sounds like Bete is sad and jealous"

Angry Bete "Shut up you idiots!"

Ais cut in "Bete, I will miss you too", giving him a small kiss on the cheek.

That did it, as Bete was tomato red and completely speechless. Worst of all, his tail went from a regular calm state to standing straight up, which was noticed by both sisters.

Tiona smirked "Bete, what is up with your tail?"

Tione teased "I see something got you kind of aroused..."

Tiona teased "Is the wolvie blushing?"

Tione looking very serious "Yes I think so. So it is all true"

After the tail's unusual state was pointed out, the self-conscious Bete kept thinking really hard to his tail to calm down. Bete was desperate to get the tail to behave normally. But no matter hard how he tried, he could not stop the offending appendage from misbehaving. Unfortunately, the tail continued to point straight into the sky. As the sisters teased more and more, Bete became more and more embarrassed. Finally, he could not take it any more and ran for his life like he has never done before. Bete ran as fast as he could, even though the offending tail made running unnatural and uncomfortable...

Seeing Bete in the unprecedented state, the 2 sisters chased after him for more entertainment. That left Bell and Ais with the remaining Loki members wondering what was going on. Well, the other Loki members actually understood, but they were certainly not going to explain what happened to Ais and Bell...

With that over with, Bell and Ais continued their good byes and numerous hugs. Outside, the sisters chased the desperate wolf, who ran past Loki and many others waiting patiently outside. All the while, the tail stood very proud and tall, making the running even more difficult...

Filvis looked on confused by the commotion, thinking there was an emergency, but Lefiya assured her that this was business as usual at the Loki familia.

Loki "What happened inside?"

At that point, Finn also came outside "It is fine. Tiona and Tione are simply entertaining themselves at Bete's expense..."

With the mystery scream solved, it was time to test out Filvis' new powers. While Tiona and Tione were busy chasing Bete, Loki still had Finn and Gareth for the test.

The first contestant was Finn. The beat down was pretty severe. Filvis was faster and stronger, as well as having similar agility and quickness. After a thorough beating, Finn raised his hands and smiled.

Loki "That was pretty ugly"

Finn "Yes, I don't want to have to fight her again."

Gareth was next while Finn received some treatment and potions. Filvis was even stronger than Gareth, and was much faster and more agile. After serving as a punching bag, Gareth was finally laid out by Filvis, who took pity on the large dwarf lying on the ground. As Gareth was being treated, Lefiya, Loki and the other gods looked amazed.

Loki "Well, we should take a break, but then we should probably try some 2 on 1"

Lefiya "Gosh, I don't ever remember seeing Finn and Gareth being beaten like this before"

Loki "That was pretty rough, and both were spanked pretty badly"

Freya "How many do the bad guys have?"

Hermes "We may have a problem as we only have 1 ourselves. Ottar is level 7. Bell better continue to improve quickly. Bell should probably practice against Filvis also"

Loki "Unfortunately, Ais has to retire also"

By the time they finished talking, a werewolf returned carrying two badly beaten amazon sisters. Thus, as the wolf and the sisters got some potions, Finn and Gareth ganged up on Filvis...


	79. Chapter 79

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**More Questions**

While the werewolf and the sisters got some treatment and potions, Finn and Gareth ganged up on Filvis. 2 against 1, but the battle was pretty even.

Loki "Well we need 2 level 6 to fight 1 creature evenly."

Freya "And a level 7 like Ottar can probably take on a creature like Filvis also. And there is that mino xenos"

Hermes "So it seems the falna returned Filvis' power to the way it was?"

After that statement, the gods looked at each other, reading each other's mind...

Curious Loki "Well, Dionysus returned to heaven. The creatures should have no falna power now?"

Freya "Unless there is another evil god somewhere powering them up"

Hermes "Even if there is no evil god on their side, if they use a jewel fetus, then the odds change again"

Loki "Yes, it took Bell, Riveria and dark Ais using their ultimate attack to destroy the Revis monstrosity. And I believe Bell and Ais were level boosted by your secret weapon Haruhime."

Freya "True, but these creatures know that they will lose their existence if they merged with a jewel fetus. So they probably do not desire such an outcome"

Freya continued "And Bell has leveled and his magic is half way through level 5 already"

Loki "But there better be no more dark Ais"

Hermes "Well, it seems we need the hero to yet level up again and again and again"

Freya "So if the creatures lack an evil god, then we have a chance against multiple creatures with jewel fetuses"

Freya continued "If they have an evil god, then we are still outgunned. Even if Bell becomes level 7, he can only take down one or at most 2"

Loki "There could be 9 or so more of these creatures"

Hermes "And these creatures can easily return to the surface appearing as another adventurer"

Hermes "We need to check every adventurer that returns from the dungeon. We need to know what those Astraea members looked like"

Loki "Well, I will go find the former Astraea member who survived, Gale I believe. And it seems these creatures are lower level than Filvis. So they will be busy feeding on magic stones for quite some time"

Hermes "Gale is a blonde elf who works as a waitress at the Hostess"

Loki "I will go find her"

Freya "Well, we need to get Bell more experience."

Loki "If only we can cure Ais of her darkness..."

Freya "The other issue is if push comes to shove, do we think Ais would allow Bell to fight to the death without helping him?"

Loki looking even more worried "No, there is no way she would allow that"

Freya conceded "The other force multiplier is Haruhime"

Hermes smiled "If she can level up, her level boosting can last longer. And may be more people at the same time."

At that point, it was time to switch who would fight with Filvis. This time it was the 2 sisters, but it was still pretty even as their speed and agility were more important than Gareth's strength.

After some time, Bell and Ais walked by, and they too stayed to watch the sparring. Seeing Bell, Freya and Loki decided that they should have Bell also fight with Filvis. While Bell's magic and endurance stats have continued to improve, he has not had much sparring since leveling up.

Bell had a good battle with Filvis but she clearly had a significant advantage. In many ways, Bell gave Filvis the best battle, though Ottar was not there. However, Filvis was stronger with even better endurance. Their speed was pretty similar though as well as their agility. One advantage that Bell did not use was argonaut, given how fast paced the combat was.

Ais watched intently and wanted to jump in. But she remembered her condition so she had a sad look, which was not missed by Loki or Freya.

After getting beat up pretty badly by Filvis, Bell thanked her for the sparring. Then it was time for Bell and Bete to go against Filvis after some potions for Bell. That combination had the most success. It seemed to be the best combination of speed and power, and they visibly had an advantage against Filvis.

Soon after, Ottar arrived, and everyone was going to be treated to some real entertainment...


	80. Chapter 80

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Bragging Rights**

As Bell and Bete were finishing up with sparring with Filvis, Ottar arrived. That made everyone excited, as this would be the main event for the bragging rights to Orario.

The battle was really intense and very even, which surprised Loki. Every time someone appeared to be getting an advantage, the other quickly changed the tempo in an unexpected way.

Loki "Freya, I thought Ottar was level boosted when he fought Filvis in the Knossos?"

Freya smiled "Yes, I believe so."

Loki "But he is not level boosted now, so why is the battle so even?"

Freya smirked "Oh I just gave him an update and he improved a lot. Prior to this situation, we did not bother to update Ottar very often as it was unnecessary."

Surprised Loki "Is he level 8 now?"

Freya smiled "Loki, status is confidential, but we will inform the guild as we are required to when the time comes", frustrating the curious Loki.

As they spoke, Ottar and Filvis continued to fight evenly. After about twenty minutes, they decided to call it a draw as it was time for Freya and Ottar to go back home along with Bell and Ais.

Loki "Well Freya, I will be utilizing your spare rooms soon. And before the engagement party!"

Freya "Let me know, and I will have a special meal in your honor on your next visit."

Happy Loki "Well, one of my members is now even with Ottar, so we share the bragging rights in Orario"

Freya smiled "Sure Loki. Oh, did I tell you what Bell's grandfather always taught Bell when he was a child?"

Curious Loki "No, tell me, tell me"

Freya 'whispered' in Loki's ear "His grandfather said heroes always have a harem" though it was loud enough for the Loki executives to hear...

That caused Loki to collapse while having a massive nose bleed.

Freya winked at Loki while waving bye.

Crying Loki "I don't think I am going to ask about that love skill ever again"

Finn chuckled "She killed you"

Loki in tears "She just took my heart away"

Finn chuckled some more "It seems Freya is always a step ahead of us"

Gareth laughed "Or more. Momma is going to faint"

Greedy Loki "And I get nothing. May be if I begged just a little..."

Horrified Lefiya "Stop! I am having horrible images play out in my mind"

Sly Loki "But you were treated by love"

Lefiya covered her ears "I am not going to talk about it. See no evil. Hear no evil"

Seeing Lefiya defocused and eyes closed, Loki got a few really good squeezes in, before Lefiya body-slammed her...

After the silliness was over, Loki, Riveria and Finn went to the Hostess to find Ryuu. They wanted to learn more about her former familia members who apparently are now creatures. It would probably be a very emotional discussion.

-At the Folkvangr-

Bell, Ais, Freya and Ottar returned, and they quickly went to attend to a number of matters.

Ais settled into her room, while Bell met with Ottar. Apparently there would be daily training sessions with Ottar and Filvis. Haruhime will also be taking part in the training as she would go through different combinations of boosting for the combatants. From 0 boosted, to 1 boosted, to 2 boosted to all 3 boosted, they will get as much experience as possible.

At the same time, Freya started the party planning for the biggest engagement party in the history of the city.

\- At the Hostess -

The Loki party arrived, but Ryuu was not there at the moment. With the serious mood, Mia and Syr asked about the reason, and their worst nightmare was realized.

Mia "I do not think she is going to take this well."

Syr "Poor Ryuu will be devastated with this information"

Loki "May be you could help lessen the blow?"

Finn "Unfortunately we need as much information as we can get"

Syr "She may want to rescue them like what happened with Filvis"

Mia "Is that possible?"

Loki "It is possible, but I dont know who these creatures would have allegiance to"

At this point, Ryuu walked into the Hostess and noticed the strange mood of the group...


	81. Chapter 81

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**The Talk**

\- At the Hostess -

While Loki and her party were talking Mia and Syr, Ryuu walked into the Hostess and noticed the group's strange mood...

Syr "..."

Mia also did not know what to say.

Syr gave Ryuu a hug, which surprised Ryuu. Given the way everything appeared, Ryuu realized something may be terribly wrong.

Ryuu asked apprehensively "Is everything alright?"

Syr with tears "Ryuu, I am afraid we have to talk, and it is bad news"

Thinking that the Loki may be trying to arrest the Gale, Ryuu looked directly at Loki "If you want to take me in, I am ready"

Loki "We know who you are, but we don't care about that. You did great in my view back then"

Puzzled Ryuu "Then what is going on"

At that point, Mia took everyone upstairs to one of the rooms so they could have privacy. Having never seen Mia act this way before, Ryuu realized this is really bad.

Ryuu "You people are really worrying me. Please tell me what is going on"

Realizing she had to take the lead, Syr "Ryuu, we have bad news about your old familia"

Worried Ryuu "Someone saw Astraea?"

Sullen Loki "Not that I am aware of"

Syr "Loki and the others discovered something horrible about what happened to your old familia members"

Ryuu "But they all died years ago right in front of me..."

Sudden Ryuu stopped talking. Her mind was starting to connect the dots about her dead comrades and the creatures. Remembering the missing bodies, Ryuu suddenly went pale white from the horrible jolt to her system.

Ryuu "... oh no ..."

Loki went straight to the truth "Filvis, a creature who I just gave a falna to, has told me that Revis the creature was formerly the captain of the Astraea familia. Apparently her body was modified by the corrupted spirit. We are very very sorry."

Tears came streaming out of Ryuu's eyes. Before Loki could say any more, Ryuu fainted.


	82. Chapter 82

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Mystery**

\- In a Room Above the Hostess -

After Ryuu realized some of the implications of Revis and her familia, she cried and fainted. Fortunately, they were already in a room with a bed. So Syr watched over Ryuu while she was unconscious.

About 10 minutes later, Ryuu woke up. She was still pale white with dreadful thoughts running through her mind.

Syr "Ryuu, I am so sorry"

Ryuu "This is the most incredibly horrible news. I need to talk to them"

Syr "Well they are downstairs. They are waiting for you to recover..."

Syr "Wait here, I will go get them"

Syr went downstairs to find Loki, Riveria and Finn, who were talking to Mia.

Syr "Ryuu is up and wants to talk to you. She is understandably horrified."

Riveria "We will be sensitive to her feelings, but there are somethings we really need to find out"

So everyone went back upstairs.

Loki "Riveria, perhaps you should take the lead"

Ryuu "Sorry I fainted on you"

Riveria looking sympathetic "That is certainly understandable. We are sorry to be the bearer of bad news", and this comment had a big effect coming from a high elf.

Ryuu "Thank you, Riveria sama. I am sure you have questions for me, and I would also like to understand more about the situation"

Riveria "Well, why don't you ask your questions first"

Ryuu "So I heard that Revis parasiticized herself and was destroyed?"

Riveria "Yes I was there when it happened. She became this huge green demi spirit monster. It took all the strength from Ais, Bell and myself. My understanding is that it was much like what Barca did to himself, except she was much stronger to start with"

Ryuu "Did Revis say anything about Astraea of anything about my familia?"

Riveria "No, Revis did not. In fact, in previous encounters, Revis did not seem to have any recollection about us in the Loki familia. She did not know who we were."

Ryuu "We definitely did know who the Loki Familia were. That seems like Revis did not remember anything about the surface world?"

With Riveria unsure, Finn "That is what it seems to me"

Ryuu "Are there any signs of anyone else from my familia?

Finn "Yes and no. We did not see any ourselves. However Filvis, who has joined our familia even though as a creature, said that she saw a few more beyond Revis. We are not sure who, but you may be able to figure that out if you talk to Filvis"

Ryuu "I would like the opportunity to do that"

Finn "We are obviously very interested in the intent and the power of the creatures. This is a secret but Filvis is fighting roughly with the power of a level 7. Obviously if there are 10 level 7 creatures out there, that would be an enormous threat to Orario. That is especially the case if they can simply walk through the dungeon entrance without causing a stir"

Ryuu nodded "I understand why this is important. I will help if I can"

Loki "Thank you. It would be extremely helpful to find out what power level these creatures are at currently. If they do not have any memory, they may have died. Then their falnas and their souls would have passed on."

Ryuu "If their souls passed on, then only their bodies are being violated. That is horrible, but much less horrible than if their souls are being controlled."

Loki "Yes I understand your concern. If they died, that would mean the connection with Astraea would have disconnected. That means Astraea would know"

Riveria "Yes, we should try to find Astraea and ask her"

Finn "Revis was also fighting like a level 7. Given what Filvis said, it is likely she had a falna from Astraea or Dionysus or some other evil god. The other creatures are likely to be in the same situation."

Ryuu "I cannot believe Astaea would not have told me if she still had a connection with them. We believe they all died even though I could not find their bodies"

Loki "That would seem to be true, especially with the Astraea I know"

Ryuu "But we can try to confirm that. I will also need to find Astraea. But I will first go talk to Filvis to see what we can figure out together"

Loki "Was your status ever locked?"

Ryuu "I don't know. Astraea never mentioned it."

Riveria "Ryuu, would you mind if one of us checked that? We understand that is highly confidential, but we will keep it confidential.

Ryuu "That is fine. You can all see it"

At that point, everyone but Finn stayed in the room to check Ryuu' status.

Loki "Well your status is not currently locked. Could Astraea have unlocked it before she left?"

Ryuu "It is possible but I do not know."

Riveria bowed "Ryuu, what you are doing is very difficult. Thank you for being so strong"

Ryuu bowed "Please Riveria sama. But your words really means a lot to me coming from you"

Thus Syr and Ryuu followed the Loki members to the Twilight Manor to talk to Filvis.

\- Earlier at the Twilight Manor at a dining table -

Filvis "Lefiya, I am sorry you were hurt. I just tried to do what was the safest way for you"

Lefiya in tears "You have no idea what that did to me. I was so devastated I could not talk or eat. I could not break myself out of my own shell. It took something extreme to free me from my state"

Filvis "What happened to get you out of the state"

Lefiya " ... ... ... Well Bell had to do something extreme to me ... ... ..."

Curious Filvis "Did he have some spell?"

Lefiya "Much worse, he had to use his skill"

Filvis "So he healed you with a rare skill?"

Embarrassed Lefiya "It is sure rare. He had to do a lot more than healing. I can never get married now"

Confused Filvis "How could that be?"

Sad Lefiya "... He did things ... Then he did more things ... Then I screamed ... Then he did more things ... Then I cried ... Then he did even more things ... Then we did things ... See what I mean?"

Filvis "That sounds bad, but I still have no idea what happen"

Lefiya "All I can say is that I can never get married any more after this"

Filvis thought about it for a while, and then the light bulb went on in her head"

Filvis "You mean you cannot get married to anyone except to Bell"

Shocked Lefiya "... AHHHHH I can never marry Bell ... I hate him ... I mean he is my rival and he won ... I mean he took Ais away ... I mean he is marrying Ais ... So how can I possibly marry him"

Filvis "That does sound difficult since he is marrying Ais, but it sounds like you have some feelings for him"

Frustrated Lefiya "I only hate him, dont you understand?"

Curious Filvis "I don't know about hate, but it sounds intense"

Frustrated Lefiya "Don't make it out to be something it is not. It is really frustrating"

Filvis "Well, I will always be by your side if you do not mind"

Lefiya cries and hugs Filvis

Filvis "But Lefiya, I am a creature."

Lefiya did not know what to say but just kept crying that everything sucks. It was a good cry. Bell broke her out of her situation, but the only way for her to feel better is to reconcile with Filvis...

At that point, Loki, Riveria, Finn, Syr and Ryuu arrived.


	83. Chapter 83

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Replacements**

Loki, Riveria, Finn, Syr and Ryuu arrived at the Twilight Manor and found Lefiya talking with Filvis.

Loki "Filvis, I brought Ryuu here who is a member of the Astraea familia. As you can imagine, she has some questions about Revis and the others that you may have seen"

Filvis "I will be happy to tell you what I know"

Ryuu "I appreciate your help. As Lady Loki indicated, I am a member of the Astraea familia, so I care a lot about what happened to my former colleagues who fell in the dungeon 5 years ago. You said Revis was actually my former captain Alise?"

Filvis "That is what Dionysus told me. He pointed out Revis was the former captain and there were several others that were former Astraea members"

Ryuu "Did they remember anything about the surface world or the Astraea familia"

Filvis "I have only talked to Revis. She did not appear to remember anyone or much about the surface world. She also did not mention anything about Astraea. She was very self-fish and beast-like and only interested in her own survival."

Ryuu "Do you know if Dionysus or any other god gave them a falna"

Filvis "I am not sure. I kept my falna when I was changed into a creature but I did not completely die. That may have been an unique situation as Enyo was Dionysus though Olivias may have been the other exception. Olivias definitely had memories. I myself lost a lot of power when Dionysus returned to heaven. Revis was destroyed before Dionysus returning to heaven."

Ryuu "Do you remember how the other creatures looked like?"

Filvis "I saw 3 other ones, and they were all female. There could be more. But we were far away from them. They were regular size, but I could not tell if they were human, elf or another race. I dont think there were any pallum or dwarf"

Ryuu "How many times did you see the other creatures?"

Filvis "Several times but was never near them. I was mostly with Revis. The other creatures mostly kept to themselves. "

Ryuu "Do you know if the corrupted spirit have other creatures?"

Filvis "Not that I am aware of other than Olivias who was killed by Revis for his magic stone. I know that the corrupted spirit tried to convert adventurers when there was an opportunity. However, lower levels have trouble surviving the process. I think level 1 adventurers almost have no chance of surviving the process"

Finn "Quick question, but why not convert the bodies that did not survive the process?"

Filvis "Once the process fails, I do not think it is possible to try again"

Ryuu "How did you increase your power to such a high level"

Filvis "Creatures got stronger by consuming magic stones. The higher power the magic stone, the better. I consumed the magic stone of a demi spirit to reach level 7 type of power. So did Revis. I believe the other creatures were at least 1-2 levels lower in power. I dont think anyone else consumed the magic stone from a demi spirit."

Loki "What do you think is going on with the corrupted spirit and those creatures right now?"

Filvis "Well, I have not had any dealings with the corrupted spirit after I was changed into a creature. They lost Dionysus, me and Revis, and used up a few demi spirits. I don't think they have that many jewel fetuses because they probably used what they have up. Also a lot of resources were used up like virgas"

Filvis continued "They are likely trying to regenerate some of their resources, particularly jewel fetuses."

Finn "How long does it take to grow a jewel fetus"

Filvis "I don't know how long it takes the corrupted spirit to create a single fetus. However, after the fetus is attached to a source of nourishment such as a pantry, it takes at least 1 month for it to become a jewel fetus. After the jewel fetus is ready, the parasiticized entity would need to feed essentially non-stop for at least 2 weeks for enough energy, probably more."

Finn "What is below the 59th floor"

Filvis "The lowest floor I have been to is the 66th floor. It is pretty much the same from the 59th to the 66th floor. Mostly jungles which were cultivated to grow demi spirits.

Everyone "!"

Finn "We need to destroy their ability to generate demi spirits."

Filvis "I can help in that"

Loki "We would need Ottar and Bell."

Loki "I think Freya said Bell needs at least a couple weeks to get close to level 6 stats."

Finn "Knowing Bell, level 6 for him is as good as a level 7"

Riveria "Yes it is worth waiting for that."

Finn "I don't think we want to wait more than 1 month, and preferably less. We need to burn off those jungles"

Filvis to Ryuu "Sorry I did not have any more information"

Ryuu "Actually it sounds like my former familia members probably died as there is no retained memory."

Filvis "I think Revis acted on her own for the most part. Same with the other creatures."

Ryuu "That is a lot better than being controlled, so that sets my mind more at ease. Thank you for your help"

Ryuu "Now I need about 1 week to reach the location where Astraea may be"

Syr "I will go with you to Astraea"

Ryuu "But the journey could be dangerous"

Syr smiled "I will go with you"

With their conversation ended, Syr and Ryuu returned to the Hostess. Filvis and Loki went to the Folkvangr for training with Bell and Ottar. Finn, Riveria and Finn sat around to discuss the situation.

Riveria "Well, it seems Filvis is getting along well with Lefiya again. I am really thankful to see that."

Finn "Yes it seems that they talked it out"

Gareth "Well, we need to keep an eye on her. It is good she is helping to train Bell. We also need to learn how to fight those creatures down there"

Riveria "Yes, she should be training us also"

\- At the Folkvangr -

Bell, Ottar and Filvis took turns sparring and being healed. Loki, Lefiya, Freya and Ais were watching the entire training.

It was good for Bell to get some training in. With Ais' condition, it has been quite a while since he had a chance to train. While his magic and endurance stats went up, the fighting portion of his stats had been pretty stagnant.

When Bell went against Ottar, his improved stats after reaching level 5 clearly showed up. Bell was fighting like at least like a mid level 6. Ottar still knocked him out and Ais still got to give him the lap pillows, but the fight was far less lopsided.

When Bell went against Filvis, it was a similar situation. Bell still got knocked out, but the battle was pretty reasonable.

Ais was having trouble just watching Bell get beat up. Freya monitored her carefully, and any time Ais got a bit upset, Freya used charm to help soothe Ais down. That was definitely noticed by Lefiya and Loki, which reminded them of the seriousness of Ais' condition. As long as the condition is not cured, it looked like Ais would be staying with Freya.

As the day went on, Bell definitely caught on to some of Filvis' techniques, and made an observable improvement in his skills. Before dinner, Freya gave Bell an update.

level 5

strength: 180

endurance: 403

agility: 192

dexterity: 165

magic: 667

skill: argonaut, ox slayer, love

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape, magic resistance

\- At the Hostess -

Ryuu and Syr returned to the Hostess and talked with Mia and the other girls.

Mia "So you are going to find Astraea"

Syr "And I am going with her"

Mia "That is fine."

Mia "It will be a dangerous trip, but I am sure you will be protected on the trip."

Anya, Chloe and Lunoire also wanted to go, and Mia indicated she is fine with it. That made all the girls very happy about their trip.

Ryuu "But what about the hostess?"

Mia "Dont worry. I will get some extra help, and May is still cooking."

Mia then went out to attend to a few matters, leaving the girls to fend for themselves for a while.

Later, Bell, Ais and Freya came in for dinner after a long day of training.

Syr "Bell, Ais, Lady Freya, welcome and please follow me to your table"

After sitting down, Freya "Is Mia here?"

Syr "No, she left earlier this afternoon and has not been back"

Syr "I will let her know when she returns"

After they ordered their food, Filvis, Lefiya and Loki also came in for food. Then Loki went over to talk.

Loki "So you are all eating without us. I understand."

Ais "Sorry Loki, but the table is too small"

Loki "How soon am I forgotten, sniff sniff"

Ais "Come on Loki" and gave her a hug which made Loki quiet and happy.

Freya smiled "So it is the squeaky wheel situation"

Loki "Come on, Freya, you already got her under your roof so at least let me have some fun"

Freya "Alright, well have some Soma wine"

Loki "Wow, the good stuff, thanks"

At that point, Mia came back and went to Freya's table after talking to Syr.

Mia "Lady Freya"

Freya "I was told that you were looking for me"

Mia then explained what happened with Ryuu, and that Syr was going along as well as her maids.

Freya "I see. Well Allen will go along to provide protection, but who will work for you while your maids are on the trip?"

Mia "I went putting out signs looking for temporary help"

Bell "I can help here if you need"

Ais "Bell, I will help you even though I cannot cook"

Mia smiled looking at Bell "Yes, you would look great in an outfit"

Bell "!"

Freya smirked "That sounds interesting. I will be eating here often"

Even Ais' smile got happier...

At the same time, Loki with dirty thoughts "Ais in maid uniform, scored!"

As Loki was fantasizing, Freya "Stop your wet dream"

Loki "Look at who is talking"

Then Loki suddenly got serious "Actually I do have a serious matter to discuss..."


	84. Chapter 84

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Really Good Business**

\- At the Hostess -

As Loki put down her glass of Soma wine, it was time for the serious talk.

Loki "Filvis told us that there are at least 3 more creatures that are former Astraea members. We are not sure how many there are, but there could be up 10 missing members who could have been turned into creatures. Revis was their former captain. The remaining creatures would likely have less power than Revis and Filvis, but the corrupted spirit is probably trying to create more jewel fetus that can be used to create demi spirits. The demi spirits are direct threats. Also what got Revis to level 7 power was a demi spirit magic crystal."

As if reading Loki's mind, Freya "It is amazing how these stories always escalate. How much time do we have"

Loki "Filvis also said that about 1 month minimum to generate a jewel fetus after attachment to a pantry. Then at least 2 weeks of continuous feeding for a parasiticized entity. What is worse is that floor 59 to 66 are jungles created to generate jewel fetuses. And there could be more of the same floors below that but we just do not know. We also do not know what they have kept in reserve"

Freya "So we need to strike in less than 1 month"

Loki "That is our thought, and Ryuu is going to try to find Astraea to see if she knows anything else about those former members. In the mean time, Bell needs to train hard"

Bell "I understand Lady Loki"

Ais "Bell, I am sorry I cannot help"

Bell "Ais, the best thing for me is to know that you are safe"

Ais crying "But you will be in danger and I cannot help. I am so useless"

As they hugged Ais, Bell "I can fight my best if I know you are safe"

Ryuu "We will leave tomorrow morning and hope to be back in 2 weeks"

At that point, Ryuu went to pack along with Syr, Anya, Chloe and Lunoire.

\- At the Folkvangr -

With the urgency of the situation and the potential of 10 creatures, Bell's training got even more intense.

Bell, Ottar and Filvis continued to take turns sparring and being healed. Loki, Lefiya, Freya and Ais were watching the entire training. Finn, Gareth, Bete, Tiona and Tione also came over to train, particularly against Filvis.

When Bell went against Ottar, he was clearly improving by leaps and bounds. The same was true with Filvis. Haruhime joined them some of the time to boost different combatants.

It was important for the Loki members to get experience fighting against a creature, so their time with Filvis was important.

\- On the Way to a Far Away Village in the North -

Having procured horses for the trip, the girls were having a great time. Providing protection escort was Allen up front and 2 Gulliver Brothers in the rear. With such heavy protection, what monsters that dared challenge were quickly diced up.

The last time Ryuu received a letter from Astraea, she was at a far away location towards the Dragon Valley up north. She was living in a farming small village that had a few retired adventurers who provided protection. Apparently life was basic and sort of tough, but Astraea did not want to be Orario any more with the bad memories of her loss.

\- In the Evenings at the Hostess -

The idea of having Bell and Ais serving customers in maid outfits were a shock in Orario. Business was very very good. Mia was quite happy seeing $ signs in her eyes but she did worry about the girls on the trip.

The very first group of customers that evening were the Loki executives. Loki, Finn, Riveria, Tiona, Tione, Bete and Gareth were there, as well as Lefiya and Filvis.

Loki "Aissy-poo, are you waiting on us today"

Ais "Welcome, I will show you to your table" with Riveria punishing Loki's naughty hand headed towards Ais' butt.

The second group of customers was Freya, Ottar, Haruhime, Lili and Welf. Bell went over to take them to their table.

Freya "Bell, you look so cute in that uniform" making Bell super embarrassed in his maid skirt and Mia lol.

Lili "Bell sama, you look really good in that lol" earning laughs from Welf while Haruhime was too embarrassed to comment or even look.

The third group was Mord, Scot and a few other adventurers who were bought to their table by a temporary maid that Mia hired.

Mord "Bell is wearing a skirt - that is quite a treat!"

Scot yelled from across the restaurant "Bell, come sit on my lap lol"

The fourth group was Hermes and Asfi, who was brought to their table by Mia herself. That was one way to keep Hermes' mouth shut.

The fifth was Hephaestus and Tsubaki, who was brought to their table by Ais. Hephaestus was really enjoying the strange scene in the Hostess. Tsubaki licked her licks look at Bell.

Business was so good that customers were lining up outside the pub. Seeing the huge wait, Momma decided to put out some tables outside the restaurant for outdoor dining for customers who did not want to wait. The problem was there were not enough waitresses to handle the customers. May was also going crazy cooking for too many people.

Finn "lol, they cannot handle this much business"

Loki "yes, this is a crazy scene."

Riveria "poor Ais is going to have to use ariel to get to all the tables in time"

Seeing Ais suffer, Lefiya immediately got up and asked Mia for a maid outfit. Filvis, Tiona and Tione soon followed. That made the atmosphere in the pub even more surreal.

Loki "Wow, all my girls are going to moonlight at the Hostess now!"

Freya also saw that the Hostess was going out of control with business. With Lefiya and her friends helping out, the kitchen could not keep up.

Freya "Ais dear, could you please ariel back to the Folkvangr and get my best chef and an assistant here at the fastest pace possible?"

Ais nodded "Yes, I will do it immediately"

So Ais left for Folkvangr and Bell covered her tables including Loki's table. As Bell bought the food, Bete had a naughty look and was having evil thoughts of revenge. While Bell was serving, wolvie's long tail flipped Bell's skirt making Bell scream and very embarrassed. However, Mia saw everything and quickly grabbed the offending tail. Not only that, but said tail was severely punished, making Bete roll around the ground in pain for his bad behavior.

Finn "Mia, your punishment is much needed."

Riveria "Mia, I think this is good for Bete in the long term"

Mia winked "No one touches my girls", making Bell pout.

By that time, Ais returned with a chef who immediately went in the kitchen to help May. Ais then left again to pick up an assistant.

\- By the end of the first week -

The Hostess was making money like it has never done. With the Loki girls working there along with Bell in a skirt, everyone wanted to eat there. All the guy adventurers wanted to be served by the Loki girls, as this was the only chance for them to get near them. Bell's fans in the city all wanted to see him in a maid outfit. By the end of the week, Bell's butt had been pinched over 20 times by different girls, but his skirt was never flipped again after Bete's punishment. On the other hand, no one dared touch the Loki girls. Groups from the Freya familia, Loki familia and the Hermes familia came everyday to eat and have fun. Word was that even the Xenos wanted to go but could not work out the political situation...

For training, Bell was fighting like at least like an advanced level 6 by the end of the week. So it got easier for Ais to watch, as Bell received less and less lap pillows as the days went by. The fights against Ottar and Filvis were no longer very lopsided. Bell had also clearly started to surpass Finn and Gareth. Bell stats took a huge jump:

level 5

strength: 630

endurance: 762

agility: 623

dexterity: 584

magic: 789

skill: argonaut, ox slayer, love

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape, magic resistance

\- Remote Village Far North of Orario -

After a long week of travel, the girls and their protection escort reached their destination. There was no monster worth mention as Allen and the 2 Gulliver brothers were a substantial overkill.

As they walked around the village, it appear to have less than 50 inhabitants. A few came to greet them.

Village man "Welcome, can we help you? Where are you going?"

Ryuu "We are looking for Goddess Astraea. Could you be so kind to direct us to her"

Village lady "May I ask why you are looking for the goddess?"

Ryuu "She is actually my goddess"

Village man "Oh then I will take you to her now"

At the end of the village was a small modest hut. When they knocked on the door, a lady with long brown hair and a long skirt opened the door.

A teary Ryuu "Lady Astraea!"

A teary Astraea "Ryuu, it has been a long time" ...


	85. Chapter 85

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Closure**

\- Remote Village Far North of Orario -

A lady with long brown hair and a long skirt opened the door of the small hut.

A teary Ryuu "Lady Astraea!"

A teary Astraea "Ryuu, it has been a long time"

After an emotional reunion, Ryuu, Syr and the other girls sat down to have tea with Astraea.

Astraea "Ryuu, how have you been? How long did it take to get here?"

Ryuu "It took us 1 week. On my right is Syr who saved me when I was at my darkest moment."

With that, Astraea thanked Syr and did a dogeza. That immediately caused everyone to jump up and stop Astraea from such a self-deprecating act.

Syr "I was glad to do it. We are close friends now as well with Chloe, Anya and Lunoire here."

Astraea "Thank you all for taking care of Ryuu. I always worried about her because of what happened in the dungeon. By the way, who are the 3 strong ones outside."

Syr "They protected us on the way here. They are part of the Freya familia, Allen and 2 Gulliver brothers. They are all first class adventurers."

Astraea "Well I am going to get them some tea and snacks. Please hold on"

After Astraea returned from feeding the Freya members, she had a lot of questions.

Astraea "Ryuu, it is wonderful to meet you and your friends. Is there a reason that you need to see me?"

Ryuu "Yes there is. We learned of something horrible that happened to Alise and at least some of our former members"

Astraea "But they died 5 years ago"

Ryuu "At least their bodies may still be functional. A corrupted spirit in the dungeon may have turned their bodies into a monster hybrid."

Shocked Astraea "Can something like that really happen?

Ryuu "Yes and these creatures are extremely strong"

Ryuu "Apparently Alise was turned into one of these creatures and became in terms of strength, a level 7"

Tears streamed down from Astraea "That is indeed horrible. What happened to Alise then?"

Ryuu "That creature was destroyed. That is why we need to know what you know. Did the connection between you and Alise completely ceased to exist on the day of that massacre?"

Astraea "As far as I can tell, all connections between me and Alise ceased to exist that day"

Ryuu "And with the other members?"

Astraea "That was also the case. You are the only one that I have a connection to ever since that day."

Ryuu "Well, at least that confirms our theory that only their bodies were stolen and not their minds or memories. It is horrible but not as horrible as it could have been"

Astraea "What about the other members and their bodies?"

Ryuu "We only know that at least 3 former members became creatures. There could be more"

Astraea "What are these creatures doing"

Ryuu "They follow instructions of the corrupted spirit and currently the biggest threat to the world. That is why we came to talk to you to try to see if they are still deriving any strength from you in any fashion."

Sad Astraea "No there is no more connection. But it is my fault that this happened"

Syr "Lady Astraea, do not blame yourself. What happened is horrible, but there is nothing you could have done about it"

Ryuu "And the day they were massacred, it was a rare dungeon monster that quickly killed everyone. A similar creature reappeared recently and it took multiple 1st class adventurers to destroy it including a level 7. So please do not blame yourself"

Ryuu "Another question is that my falna is that I can convert to another god without any changes needed. IS that the way you kept the falna with Alise and the others"

Astraea "Yes, I always kept falnas that way so members have the most flexibility"

Ryuu "I see. That answers my questions. Thank you"

Astraea "Well, what are your plans now?"

Ryuu "We will need to return to Orario and plan accordingly. We must remove this threat from the world."

Astraea "You must be in a hurry, but at least lets share a meal"

Ryuu "Thank you for your continued believe in justice"

Astraea "We still have a connection so you have not joined another familia?"

Ryuu "I have been working in the same pub as my friends. I have not had the need to do that"

Serious Astraea "Well I will not be going back. So you need to move on. It is better that way"

Sad Ryuu "I understand..."

Astraea "But at least let me update your stats now as it has been so long."

After Ryuu was updated, Astraea informed her that she has become level 5, causing a small cheer among the girls that one of them is now a 1st class adventurer. Afterwards, they shared a meal with Astraea and some of the villagers. It was a small feast that featured a wild boar that the Gulliver Brother hunted.

That evening, Astraea talked to Ryuu some more. Astraea mentioned again that Ryuu needs to move on. In response, Ryuu agreed that she will because she needed to get stronger to help the effort.

The next morning, they said their good byes and rushed back towards Orario.

As Astraea saw them head out, she was crying and said to herself "Ryuu, take care of yourself. You must join a new familia."

\- At the Hostess -

Meanwhile, the crazy business at the Hostess continues unabated. Momma Mia is making money like she has never seen. Freya, Loki and Hermes are going there every night. The Loki girls continue to be the draw, as well as Bell in the maid outfit.

It was a celebration every night with much so much good food and lots of drinks. Hermes had to be carried home, as well as Loki and Bete. Of course, Bete had to be tied up half the time...

\- By the end of the second week -

Bell made further progress and was fighting like a very advanced level 6. His battles with Ottar and Filvis were very close and there were no more lap pillows. His stats were also more than ready to level, but he needed a leveling event. Freya considered what the event could be. Battling Ottar and Filvis would not really count unless it was much more deadly. Beating Asterius would be too repetitive. There needs to be something worthy, and she had trouble figuring something out. Nevertheless, she showed Bell his stats and suggested a dungeon trip may trigger his luck. Of course, as Bell's luck would have it, it was pretty much time for the deep dive into the dungeon.

level 5

strength: 985

endurance: 1103

agility: 1083

dexterity: 947

magic: 1094

skill: argonaut, ox slayer, love

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape, magic resistance

\- At the Hostess -

Ryuu and her friends returned to Orario.

Momma thinking "What am I going to do when the girls come back? Business is going to drop like a rock. May be I can find some Bell and Ais look-alike's."

Suddenly, a light bulb went on in Mia's head...

Later that day, Ryuu suddenly lost all her powers without any warning. Completely freaked out, she decided to rush to the Loki Familia for help...


	86. Chapter 86

Message to the readers and reviewers.

I do not give much feedback like a lot of writers. But I do read feedback and take them into account.

As you probably, I took a break for a while out of work and other stuff. Anyways, my schedule is good now. As some of you pointed out, this arc is heading towards a climax.

When this story is done, I decided not to write the loki is a man story. Some people really against it and there is no need to offend people.

I do have another idea in which Bell has a more cool-cat personality, kind of like the fonz (without the leather jacket) in the old sit-com happy days if any of you watch old tv series. We shall see : )

There are at least 1-2 stories that I did not finish that I may get back to. One of my preferences is not to contradict too much of the real story. It is hard with fanfic, but that is one of the reasons I stopped one story. Now that the real story has progressed, I may go back and wrap that one up. Of course, that does not mean I do not enjoy fanfics that totally change the story around, but I just dont like write it myself.

Cheers.


	87. Chapter 87

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Replacements**

\- At the Folkvangr -

At the beginning of the 3rd week, Bell continued to practice against Ottar and Filvis. With everyday of training, he gets closer and closer to having an even fight. As Freya watched, she actually thought that Bell would catch up after a level up. The problem is that the level up would probably require a trip to the dungeon, but she really would prefer that he leveled up before going into the dungeon...

Finn and Gareth would continue to train against an available level 7 fighter who is not sparring with Bell. They are also benefiting from the experience, especially against Filvis who had skills that other sparring partners did not.

Haruhime's boosting was used to give everyone the chance to fight against a level 8 opponent. Also Haruhime's boosting endurance continues to improve. With consistent practice over the last few weeks, Haruhime could also boost 5 people for up to 12 minutes twice with at least half an hour of rest in between. The biggest news of all was that Haruhime is now qualified for level 2. They would wait until the trip before completing the leveling, giving her an opportunity to get the stats a bit higher.

The last practice of the day had all 5 combatants boosted. So it was Bell at level 6 and Ottar at level 8 against Filvis at 'level 8', Finn at level 7 and Gareth at level 7. The Loki members had the clear advantage, but Finn actually commented that it could be an even fight after Bell leveled.

After the Loki members left for home, Bell's status showed steady improvement.

level 5

strength: 1048

endurance: 1159

agility: 1167

dexterity: 998

magic: 1151

skill: argonaut, ox slayer, love

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape, magic resistance

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Gareth, Finn, Lefiya and Filvis ran into Ryuu at the gate. Ryuu was basically falling apart in tears.

Finn "What happened Ryuu"

Ryuu in tears "Finn-san, I just lost all my powers. I fear for the worst"

They quickly took Ryuu to see Loki, who happened to be in her chambers. Soon Riveria joined them.

After learning that Ryuu lost her powers, Loki "When did this happened?"

Ryuu "It just happened. I immediately came here to talk to you afterward realizing that"

Loki "So did you see Astraea"

Ryuu "Yes, we found her in a distant village. We left the village about a week ago"

Loki "Ryuu, I am sorry to tell you that Astraea has returned to heaven"

Ryuu continued to have tears stream down "Is there any other explanation?"

Loki "No, was she in any danger or is there any explanation why this happened?"

Ryuu "No danger that I was aware of. She did tell me to join another familia repeatedly"

Loki "I see. May be learning of what happened was too much for her. So she basically pushed you to move forward, is that right?"

Ryuu "Yes"

Loki "Well, perhaps you do need to move forward. Would you like to join my familia?"

Ryuu "That would be an honor, but my background is bad and you may be aware of the bounty of 80 million valis on my head?"

Loki "80 million is an awful lot, but let me take care of that. Just tell me if you would want to join. I am sure Freya would also be happy to accept you, and she should also be able to take care of your bounty issue."

Ryuu "I would prefer to join the Loki familia."

Curious Loki "Good. I would like to ask why you prefer us versus Freya or Ganesha or Hermes."

Ryuu "First, you are leading the charge against the creatures. Second, I think I would fit in here better because I believe I got to know a lot of your members over the years"

Puzzled Loki "But I can tell there is something else important"

Stunned Ryuu suddenly remember that she cannot hide things from a god "Well, there is something else but it is too embarrassing to mention."

Very curious Loki "Well you should not keep secrets from your familia"

Tomato red Ryuu looking down "There is something I would like to avoid over at the Freya familia"

Detective Loki "Now we are getting somewhere. But you need to tell the whole story. So what is the situation you want to avoid?"

Super embarrassed Ryuu "Well there is a situation with 2 people at the Folkvangr that I want to avoid"

Interrogator Loki "Good, but who are those people?"

Ready-to-faint Ryuu looking down "Bell Cranel and Ais Wallenstein", making Lefiya gasp and the senior executives have knowing looks and smiles.

Executioner Loki "And why do you not want to see the rabbit and Ais? Have they offended or threatened you?"

Defeated Ryuu "It is because I am in love with Bell and I do not want to see them as a couple every day", making Lefiya's fist tightened as noticed by Filvis.

Satisfied Loki "I see. Well that is a good explanation. I have cried many times and nights over this myself. Well I can respect that and it is a good reason. Dont worry, your secret crush is safe with us."

Loki continued "Well Ryuu, I will give you my falna now", as the other members left to give them some privacy.

As Loki gave Ryuu her falna, she thought about some groping with Ryuu's slender body, ample curves and smooth skin. However she decided to respect Ryuu's situation with Astraea for now. She will give an unsuspecting Ryuu a proper initiation into the familia later. The familia bath would be a good location...

As everyone else waited outside, Filvis saw Lefiya was fuming mad.

Filvis "What is wrong Lefiya?"

Fuming Lefiya "Everyone is in love with that rabbit"

Filvis smirked "Do you finally admit your feelings?"

Tomato red Lefiya "I only hate that rabbit! I have no other feelings towards him!", earning knowing smiles from Finn, Gareth, Riveria and Filvis.

Fortunately for Lefiya, Loki screamed "Wow a level 5! ... Alright, you can come back in now. I am done with her"

After everyone reentered the room, Ryuu had more information "Lady Astraea confirmed our theory. All connections between Lady Astraea and her former members were terminated 5 years ago on the day of the massacre. So my former colleagues died and their souls were released. So they do not have power from Astraea. Of course, as you stated, Astraea died today."

Ryuu continued "Also Lady Astraea keeps her falna in a convertible state so another god could have given those members a falna."

Finn "Well the question now is did anyone else give them a falna. If they have no one else other than Thanatos or Dionysus, then we may be in luck"

Riveria "That appears to be a risk we are going to have to take"

Loki "We now have a lot to do. Riveria, you and I have to talk to Ganesha to take care of Ryuu's situation. Finn and Gareth, take Ryuu, Lefiya and Filvis with you to Folkvangr. Update them on what Ryuu said and do some planning for the mission. Ryuu, sorry, but you need to be in this meeting."

Ryuu "I understand. I will not allow my personal feelings from getting in the way of the familia's good", earning a thumbs up from a winking Loki going for the cute look.

\- At Ganesha Home -

Loki and Riveria went to talk to Ganesha. After bonking Ganesha on the head for too many "I am Ganesha"' declarations, Loki got Ganesha's support for Ryuu's reinstatement. They would go to the guild the next day to talk to Ouranos.

\- At the Folkvangr -

Finn, Gareth, Filvis, Lefiya and Ryuu met with Freya, Ottar, Bell and Ais. Finn explained what happened with Astraea, and Freya agreed that the mission needs to start soon. Tentatively, they would head into the dungeon in 3 days. Freya then told them about Haruhime's level up, and that their success may hinge on her super-secret boosting ability.

Finn also got Freya to agree to go with them to see Ouranos the next day. Ryuu was extremely appreciative of Freya's support. As Ais showed everyone her new room, Freya eyed Ryuu to stay behind with her.

Freya "Ryuu, do not be concerned, but may I ask why you did not want to join my familia?"

Ryuu "Lady Freya, please do not take offense, but I just know Loki's members better"

Freya smiled "But there is something you are not telling me"

Embarrassed Ryuu "Yes, there is a small personal matter."

Smiling Freya "You can tell me. I am good with secrets"

Unable to looking Freya in the eye, tomato red Ryuu "There are 2 people I am trying to avoid"

Smiling Freya "Really, I did not think anyone in my familia would have offended you. Did something happen on the trip?"

Forced into a corner, defeated Ryuu confessed for the 2nd time in the same day "No. I am in love with Bell Cranel and it hurts to see him with Ais everyday"

Victorious Freya "I thought so. Well your secret is safe with me. I hope you would not mind if I ask for a favor from you some time?"

Ryuu bowed "Lady Freya, I would be honor to assist you if I can" ...

\- At the Hostess -

That night at the hostess. Bell, Ais, Freya, Lili, Haruhime and Welf went for dinner, though Bell and Ais were helping out in their maid uniforms before and after dinner. Loki was also there with her members, and Lefiya, Filvis, Tiona and Tione also continued to help.

Seeing that the regular crew is back, Mia gather the new crew and the old crew to have a talk. She also asked Freya and Loki to join in.

Mia "I want to thank everyone for your help. I dont know what I would have without your help. I would like to offer all of you a free celebration dinner every month.", which led to a lot of cheers.

Mia "There is also a little favor I would like to ask. Due to the celebrity of your group, business has been wonderfully great. I am worried that business would collapse when you go back to adventuring..."

Bell "Oh, we are not great, but I would be happy to help once in a while."

Ais "Me too!"

Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Filvis "You can count on us also"

Freya "Well, we could slowly reduce their presence over time. Lili, would you be willing to help using your special power?"

Lili "Lili will be happy to help.", quickly changing into Bell and then soon into Ais.

As Ais, Lili then gave Loki a little kiss on the cheek, making Loki go into orbit with happiness.

As they attended to Loki, Mia "Well thank you for your support of the Hostess"

Happy Loki "Well it is our favorite restaurant and we want you to live and prosper!"

After the chat, everyone carried away their drunks, and went to bed early with the mission coming really soon.

\- The Next Day -

Loki, Freya and Finn went to see Ouranos. When the guards put up some resistance, Freya smiled at them.

Ouranos "Well, what is happening, Freya and Loki?"

Loki "Are you aware there could be many more creatures?"

Ouranos "I had the concern but looks like you are confirming it"

Loki "It appears that many former members of the Astraea familia were turned into creatures. We do not know how powerful they are. We will be deep into the dungeon to try to destroy the floors that they are using to incubate jewel fetus"

Ouranos "That is good"

Loki "We need your help. The Gale is a former member of the Astraea familia and we need her help in dealing with the creatures. I have given her my falna. Could you assist at the guild with her record?"

Ouranos "Consider it done. The Xenos would like to help in these matters. Fels will coordinate with your group. I believe Asterius may be interested in a rematch with Bell"

Freya "That would be great. I think Bell needs a great battle to level up. Could you arrange for something soon on the 5th floor?"

Ouranos "Fel will be in touch with you soon"


	88. Chapter 88

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

well, it has been a while since I wrote anything. not sure which virus I had, but something lingered for 2 months beginning this year. so now i have recovered and back in the swing of things. I am working on a couple work projects, so updates would be intermittent.

**Friendly Competition**

A couple hours after their talk with Ouranos, Fels came over to the Folkvangr. A battle with Asterius has been arranged for the next day at 10am on the 2nd floor. Fels conveyed the message from Asterius that he was really looking forward to the competition with Bell.

That night, Freya, Ottar, Bell, Ais, Welf and Haruhime went to dinner at the hostess again. Meeting them there were the Loki executives with Filvis and Lefiya. It was Bell, Ais and Lefiya's turn to work as servers at the Hostess, so they were in uniform during dinner. Ryuu was also working to help out Mia but she sat in the discussion during dinner.

Freya "The match with Asterius will be tomorrow at 10am. It will be on the 2nd floor"

Loki "We will be there"

Ais "I will sit in also since it is only the 2nd floor"

Riveria "Alright, but you need to stay relaxed"

Sad Ais "I understand"

Freya "Loki, you and I can watch on the side. It will be fine on the 2nd floor"

Loki "Yes it will be interesting"

Freya "There is more good news. Haruhime's leveling improved her boosting ability. She can boost 9 people at the same time now. And for about as long a period as she was doing at level 1 with 5 people"

Loki started counting "Bell, Ottar, Finn, Allen, Riveria, Gareth, Lefiya, Filvis. That is 8"

Freya "Those are good choices. Then we will decide the last one between my level 6 members and your Bete and twins for the last 2."

Loki "Yes 9 would give us Ottar and Filvis at level 8, 2 boosted mages, Bell at level 6 or hopefully 7, and 4 more level 7 fighters."

Finn "Yes after battling a healthy Asterius, hopefully Bell will be level 6"

Freya "It would definitely be good for Bell's stats, but I am actually unsure whether beating a healthy Asterius would be enough. Bell already beat an injured Asterius at level 4."

Loki "Well, it will be much better than training though"

Ottar "Yes that is for sure"

\- The Next Day on the 2nd Floor -

Executives from the Loki familia and Freya familia met with the Xenos at 10am. To their surprised, Asterius was wearing armor in additional to wielding his double axe. Just in case, Marie, the Xenos mermaid with healing powers was carried to the 2nd floors in a pool of water, and Amid also attended the match just in case. Ottar was the referee, while Freya and Loki also sneaked in with Finn and Allen guarding them.

Ottar "The only time I will step in is if someone is in danger of dying. Otherwise, enjoy your battle and there are plenty of healing potions", then backing off to give the 2 combatants plenty of space.

Bell and Asterius were ready and bowed to each other before the fight. The 2 combatants then jumped into action. Axe vs double daggers clashed with neither giving ground. After a couple minutes, Bell had a slight cut on his arm while Asterius also had a couple nicks.

Asterius starting talking crap "Rabbit stew will be served today. Tasty with carrots and peas!"

Bell chuckled "More like prime rib medium rare. We have horseradish!"

That made some in the audience hungry, but fortunately Ryuu bought some snacks for everyone from the Hostess. While the twins and Welf were chowing down, Ais could not eat and could barely watch. That caused huge concerns from Freya, Loki, Finn and Riveria. To help keep Ais calm, Freya used her charm which helped a lot. Nobody wanted dark Ais to emerge at this point.

With Ais under charm, everyone could concentrate on the match again. Bell was fighting Asterius really well with ox slayer kicking in and his built-up stats. At the same time, Asterius seemed to have improved, and is fighting at full health unlike last time. As a result, the fighting was still pretty even. Bell got a good slash into the mid-body through the armor, but Asterius gave Bell a broken nose at the same time.

Like the last battle, the twins were fangirls while Bete was jealous. At the same time, Ottar was thinking that Bell has caught up, while Finn and Gareth realized they were clearly surpassed. Fortunately, with Freya's charm, Ais was ok, but Loki and Freya were both thinking Ais' condition is going to be difficult to manage.

Thirty minutes into the battle, Bell had not used his magic. Going for a change of pace, several firebolts were fired. However, most of the energy were reflected back at Bell, launching him against a wall. That made everyone jump, but Bell was still ok though a bit burned.

Asterius "Little rabbit, how do you like my juggernaut armor?"

A slightly charred Bell got back up "Very good. But it is time to ride a steer"

Asterius "Rabbit stew not finished cooking yet. I like my rabbit well done"

The two then went back to their intense battle, but Bell now knows he cannot use his magic as long as the juggernaut armor was intact.

A few more minutes of fighting later, Bell got his revenge when he was able to launch a 3-second charge punch into Asterius' left arm, which apparently breaking it.

Retreating back a few steps, Asterius gripped his left arm "Good, but my right arm holds the axe"

Bell "Surrender now to avoid a spanking"

Asterius "Never, time to slaughter a rabbit"

Without a left arm, Asterius' defense was less effective, and Bell started to get a clear upper hand"

In the next few minutes, the beating started. More slashes and more blood spilled. Bell was able to get a few punches in with short charges. With the opponent staggering, more argonaut charged attacks were launched, finally resulting the knock down of Asterius.

Lying on the ground, Asterius "You win. Two in a row. I want a rematch soon."

Bell helped Asterius up, and laughed "Prime rib tastes good", a bitter pill which Asterius accepted.

As the medical care was applied, Bell and Asterius were soon like new. Ais was then allowed to go to Bell and give him a hug.

Ais admitted "It was difficult for me"

Bell "Yes, this may not have been a good idea", making Ais pout.

Riveria "Yes, I think we should not repeat this"

Freya "Ais, yes I have to use my full charm powers to keep you calm"

Loki "Aissy-poo, no more!"

After the match, everyone had a small feast on the 2nd floor before leaving. The Loki executives then followed the Freya group to the Folkvangr. The first matter was Bell's stats. Freya did an update, and it was a healthy jump but no leveling.

level 5

strength: 1223

endurance: 1368

agility: 1391

dexterity: 1175

magic: 1382

skill: argonaut, ox slayer, love

magic: firebolt

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape, magic resistance

With Bell's improvement and Haruhime's leveling, they are now ready to clean up the deep floors.


	89. Chapter 89

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**An Urgent Mission**

Given the potential for the enemy to rapidly raise their levels, time is of the essence. With Bell's improvement and Haruhime's leveling, they are now ready to start their attack.

After Bell's status update, they finalized their plans. With their Knossos experience, they were definitely not going to leave Freya and Loki exposed. Thus, after final updates, Freya and Loki immediately flew away with Ganesha, Dian Cecht and Hephaestus on Ganesha's tamed dragons. Along with the five deities, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Ryuu and Tsubaki went with them to a location only known to a small number of children.

The lead raiding party consisted of Ottar, Bell, Allen, Finn, Gareth, Filvis, Hedin, Bete, Asterius and Hogni. A trailing party consisted of the Gulliver brothers, Welf, Haruhime, Asfi, Amid, Lefiya and Riveria and the remaining Xenos. The trailing party would remain a distance of about 200 feet behind the lead party. So the two parties would be in clear visual range of each other most of the time.

At the Babel, Shakti and Hermes would be the commanders in charge of city defenses with the level 5 adventurers of the Ganesha familia providing the primary defense. Remaining Loki, Freya, Hephaestus and Hermes members would support them in this task.

Fortunately, the Hephaestus familia had already placed additional locks in the Knossos entrances. To fortify the main Babel entrance, the Hepaestus familia and Goibniu familia immediately added 2 extremely thick walls. Only very narrow openings were provided in these walls for adventurers to go through, with gates and heavy locks. During the mission, the Ganesha members would man the entrances, prohibiting adventurers from entering the dungeon. To maintain the secrecy of the mission that evening, the team ate together and slept at the Folkvangr.

\- Early Next Morning -

The lead raiding party and the trailing party headed off into the dungeon. After they walked through the main entrance, the Ganesha members immediately closed off the dungeon while sending all other adventurers back home. For the early floors, the two parties traveled together. The enormous group did not encounter any trouble as the monsters were scared of them. After passing through the 18th floor, the two parties separated into formations separated by 200 feet. By lunch time, they were on the 24th floor. After a quiet meal, they continued to march down until the 35th floor, where they spent the night. Even during the night watch, they maintained the 200 feet separation.

\- The Next Morning -

After a quick breakfast, the two parties continued down the dungeon. They then continued to the 50th floor before a very early lunch break. The mission then continued with a rapid decent destroying the typical monsters like virgas, spiders and dragons, while avoiding fireballs from valang dragons on the 58th floor.

After arriving on the 58th floor, everyone took a break and drank some potions. Riveria then activated protective magic using Veil Breath. At the same time, Haruhime and Welf put on their Hades Hat and each wore a cow bell so their friends knew where they are. They then entered the entrance for the 59th floor and soon saw a lush green tropical jungle instead of the burnt out battlefield from their last trip.

As they traversed the dense jungle, they had a deja vu experience with an enormous plant eating an endless supply of virgas for their magic stones. At that point, the plant turned towards them, and they immediately were able to positively identify a demi spirit. As they planned, one of the Gulliver brothers carried Haruhime as the trailing party ran towards the lead party. While they ran, Haruhime activated Kohonoe and then chanted Uchide no Kozuchi. After which Haruhime promptly boosted Bell, Ottar, Filvis, Riveria, Lefiya, Finn, Allen, Gareth and Hogni.

After being boosted, Bell started charging argonaut, while Riveria chanted Via Shilheim and Lefiya prepared to use Dio Grail. While they launched into action, the demi spirit also started chanting a long spell. Not taking any chances, Bell launched his argonaut firebolt only after 2 minutes of charging, which did enormous damage.

When the explosion cleared, they saw a destroyed demi spirit. The top half of the plant was completely burned away with its magic stone destroyed.

Happy Finn "Great job Bell. You completely burned it and much of the surround virga"

Happy Riveria "Yes the last time on this floor, he was not able to completely destroy the demi spirit as he was level 2. Now he has the magic stats equivalent of an advanced level 7.

Ottar "We should find the exit and burn down the other floors."

Finn agreed "Lets hope we are able to destroy the enemy before they are able to level the other creatures."

After some searching and killing some monsters, they reached level 60, which was another dense jungle.

As they started scouting the floor, they suddenly received a call from the surface, which Finn answered.

Hermes screaming "We have been played! We are under attack! The creatures and the corrupted spirit are here! We are getting spanked badly! The whole city is in panic and many have left the city gates! "

Shakti "At least 5 creatures busted through the new gates at the Babel. All appear to be female. We think they exploded kaenseki. There are reported sightings of the corrupted spirit as a green floating mass with countless tentacles. No reports of activity at Knossos entrances. The creatures are at least level 6 with at least 1 level 7. We tried to resist. Mia was defeated before the Hostess was burned to the ground. We managed to save her. We have not won a single fight. Many many are dead. We are using magic to try to hold them off but we are almost driven out of the city. We are buying time for citizens to evacuate."


	90. Chapter 90

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Disaster**

\- In a Hidden Location -

Freya "I just received a distress call from Orario."

Loki "Dont tell me"

Ais "The creatures are attacking?"

Freya "Yes, and while we are raiding deep in the dungeon. The creatures went around our raiding parties and did an end-run."

Loki "We got played"

At that point, everyone else in the group joined in the conversation.

Hephaestus "How bad is it?"

Freya "At least 5 creatures broke through the new gates at the Babel. We have lost every fight, and they killed many many. Mia was defeated by one of them, but was saved by the Ganesha familia. The creatures do not appear to use magic, and we have been using attack spells to buy time for the city to evacuate."

Tiona "We have to go back and fight"

Ais "We have to protect the goddesses"

Tione beats Tiona "Yes use your brain. If Loki returns to heaven, all our friends lose their power inside the dungeon"

Loki "We need to wait for our main army to return. Tiona, dont worry, you will get your chance to fight"

\- At that Time in Orario -

Hermes "Ah" as he runs from a woman in green armor throwing a huge rock at him"

A pretty beat-up Mia rushes to Hermes and explodes the huge rock with her fist.

Hermes "Thanks!"

Several mages launches attack spells at the woman who hid behind a building wall.

\- On the 60th Floor -

Finn "We have to divide up. Ottar go with Asterius, Amid, Gareth, Hedin, Hogni and the Gulliver brothers towards the surface. Lefiya will provide mage support for your group. Since the creatures may be focused on the main dungeon entrance, use a Knossos entrance. Preferably as far from the center of town as possible. The rest of us will burn down as many floors as we can and join you as fast as we can."

Ottar "Understood. Will be in communications through the devices" as Ottar and his group ran towards the 59th floor entrance.

Finn "Now let's find out if there is an enemy on the floor. Asfi please fly up to take a look. But use your Hades Hat just in case. When you are done, meet us near the 59th floor entrance" as Asfi flies off using her invisibility item.

Finn then went to the entrance with Bell, Riveria, Bete, Allen, Filvis and the Xenos, Welf and Haruhime.

A few minutes later, Asfi met up with the group at the 59th floor entrance.

Asfi "I saw what looked like the remains of a demi spirit. I also found what looked like the 61st floor entrance."

Finn "Sounds like its magic stone has been harvested for a creature. Haruhime, please give Riveria a boost. Riveria, please burn this floor down"

After receiving the boost from Uchide no Kozuchi, Riveria launched Rea Laevateinn as an advanced level 7, which burned most of the floor down.

Finn "Alright lets do the same on the 61st floor" as they headed to the entrance while Riveria drank a couple potions.

Finn "Ottar, we just burned down the 60th floor. There is the remains of a demi spirit but it appears the magic stone was already harvested for a creature", and then proceeded to report the same to Hermes and Shakti and then Loki and Freya.

\- In Orario -

Hermes, Shakti and a group of defenders were fighting against a creature. Magic vs rocks. Fortunately, most of the citizens were able to leave safely.

\- In the Hidden Location -

Loki "We need to plan a counter-attack"

Hephaestus "Assuming the enemy cannot figure out where we are, then we should be able to send at least Tiona and Tione to help."

Freya "We need to figure out how many creatures there are"

Loki "I agree with Freya. If there number of creatures is less than 10, then our main army is enough assuming they are level 7 or below"

Freya "Haruhime would be able to boost Ottar and Filvis to level 8. So each should be able to take out a creature fighting like a level 7. Bell would be boosted to an advanced level 6 fighting like an advanced level 7. He should also be able to take out another creature. Now if the creatures are equivalent to a level 8, then we are in big trouble"

Loki "Yes, we need people in Orario to give us some information"

Hephaestus "Right, lets wait for more information"

Ryuu "I should go back because there may be a chance they will recognize me"

Freya "That is a good point, and could reduce the amount of bloodshed"

Loki "Well, let's wait to hear from our main forces and from Hermes"

\- On the 61st Floor -

Finn had Asfi scout the floor, and she again discovered the remains of a demi spirit. Riveria once burned down the floor after boosting by Haruhime.

Finn then called Loki "Loki, we just burned down the 61st floor. Just like the 60th floor, there is the remains of a demi spirit. So it appears the magic stone was already harvested for another creature", and then proceeded to report the same to Ottar and also Hermes and Shakti.

Afterwards, Finn "Lets do the same on the 62nd floor." and the group headed to the 62nd floor entrance.

\- On the 62nd floor -

Finn's group again discovered the remains of another demi spirit. As Haruhime boosted Riveria, the entire dungeon appeared to make strange noises. The monsters on the floor started to go berserk and rampaged towards them near the 61st floor entrance.

With no time to spare, Bell launched several firebolts to take out the bigger threats while Riveria started to chant Rea Laevateinn.

Suddenly, Finn received a call from Hermes "Finn. We now have big trouble. A column of light just shot towards heaven from Ouranos' location"


	91. Chapter 91

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**The End of the World?**

\- On the 62nd Floor -

Finn received a call and it was from Hermes "Big trouble. A column of light just shoot towards heaven from Ouranos' location"

Finn "Oh no, the monsters here appeared to have gone crazy. Hermes, you people must evacuate the city asap"

Hermes "We are doing our best."

Finn "Please tell Loki and Freya, and that we are burning down the 62nd floor. Then we will head back up as the magic stones of the demi spirits on the 60th floor, 61st floor and 62 floor have already been harvested. Probably for different creatures. So it appears there will be at least 3 creatures at level 7 but there are potentially more."

As Finn and Hermes talked, Riveria casted Rea Laevateinn. But now they can clearly see a large number of monsters entering the 62nd floor from the 63rd floor.

Finn "Lord Hermes, we have real big trouble. It does appear Ouranos has returned to heaven. So without his prayers, the monsters are going berserk and probably heading to the Babel entrance."

Finn then called Ottar "Ottar, more really bad news. It appears Ouranos was forced to return to heaven. So the monsters here have all gone berserk and appear to be heading towards the surface. Be careful of monsters coming up from behind you."

Ottar "Yes we have seen the same. Fortunately, Lefiya was able to destroy most of the monsters on the floor when it happened. We will continue to head back up as fast as we can."

\- In Orario -

As the defenders continue to help residents evacuate, Hermes called Loki and Freya to update them on what happened.

Hermes "Bad news. It seems Ouranos has returned to heaven, and monsters in the dungeon are rampaging towards the surface."

Freya "This is the nightmare scenario"

Hermes "Finn asked me to tell you that the magic stones of at least 3 demi spirits have been harvested. So there is likely at least 3 creatures fighting at level 7."

Freya "So they are doing ok?"

Hermes "Yes they have burned down 3 floors but they are heading back towards the surface now. They will not go any deeper, and we will not know how many level 7 creatures there are."

Freya "Hermes, what is the latest count of creatures and their fighting level"

Hermes "What we have seen is at least 7 creatures. The only level 7 we can confirm is probably the one that defeated Mia. We can assume the other ones are at least level 6. But Finn reported that the enemy has harvested the magic stones of at least 3 magic stones. As Filvis said, one magic stone from a demi spirit could level a creature from 6 to 7."

Loki "Hermes, are there any other enemies beyond the creatures and the corrupted spirit?"

Hermes "None that we are aware of"

Loki "We will tell Finn and Ottar about the latest information on the creatures"

\- On the 61st Floor -

As Finn and his group ran towards the 60th floor entrance, he received Loki's call.

Loki "Finn, the latest count is at least 7 creatures and we can only confirm 1 creature is level 7. The other ones are presumably at least level 6. We are not aware of other enemies except the corrupted spirit"

Finn "However, all the monsters in the dungeon appear to be heading towards the surface. Orario is going to get really ugly"

Loki "Do the best you can. I am ordering you to come back alive"

Finn "Shall do. You need to stay alive also"

Finn "I will let Ottar know"

Getting through to Ottar, Finn "Ottar, the latest is that there are at least 7 creatures but they can only confirm 1 creature is level 7. The other ones are at least level 6. There are no other known enemies except the corrupted spirit"

Ottar "Other than the monsters that get to the surface. We just reached the 45th floor. All the monsters seemed to have left. Each floor now literally has no monsters except for the new ones spawning in the colosseums"

Finn "Right"

When they get to the 60th floor entrance, a huge number of monsters have already arrived from the 62nd floor and rushing towards them.

Bell "Asfi, please stay with me. They are lined up really nicely for my attack. Finn, continue heading up. After my attack, Asfi and I can catch up using her Talaria." as Bell starts charging.

Four minutes later, an argonaut charged firebolt wiped out most of the monsters entering from the 62nd floor. Bell and Asfi then flew up to catch up to Finn's group on the 60th floor.

\- In the Hidden Location -

Loki "Tiona and Ryuu, fly back to Orario and give us aerial surveillance of the creatures"

Freya "Ryuu, I can see your tension, but do not unnecessarily sacrifice yourself for your former comrades"

Hephaestus "Yes, they likely have no memory of you or their previous life"

Ryuu bowed "I understand. Thank you for your concern"

Tiona "Lets go and fight!" getting one of Ganesha's tamed dragons.

Loki "Tiona, we need the surveillance to protect our friends. Do not just jump into battle like a crazy amazon. That is an order."

Tiona "Yes"

Loki "Ryuu, keep Tiona under control"

Ryuu "I will do my best"

\- On the 60th Floor -

Seeing Asfi's use of Talaria, Finn then decided to utilize Talaria to catch up to Ottar's group. So Asfi kept ferrying the group up the dungeon one adventurer at a time two floors at a time. Filvis, at level 7, is always the first to be ferried, while Bell was always the last one to be ferried with his ability to protect himself using argonaut. Before leaving the 60th floor, Bell would use a 3 minute argonaut charged firebolt to cleanup the monsters before meeting with Finn's group on the 58th floor.

After a few hours, this allowed them to catch up to Ottar's group on the 37th floor. It was getting late, and they stopped for a quick dinner on the 32nd floor. Instead of stopping for the night, they drank potions for stamina and kept heading towards the surface. By 3 in the morning, they were getting close to the 18th floor. They did not have time to check on Rivira, but it was time for some decisions.

\- On the 22nd Floor -

Finn "Bell, you and Asfi should stay on this floor. Wait for the monsters to catch up and use your cannon to take out as many as you can. Then retreat one floor at a time and repeat the same strategy. If possible, collapse as many entrances as possible to buy us more time. Make sure you do not go mind down"

Bell "Yes we can do that."

Asfi "Bell, drink a potion and get some rest. We need your mind to be as fresh as possible"

After the two groups left, Bell had an hour of rest before the monsters started rampaging from the 23rd floor. Bell charged as Asfi carried him to the 21st floor entrance with the monsters chasing them. Timing it properly, they flew about 400 feet past the floor entrance before Bell fired a 3 minute charged firebolt...

\- Soon on the 18th Floor -

Finn calls Loki "Loki, we are now on the 18th floor and heading to the surface. We want to use both the Babel entrance and a Knossos entrance"

Loki "Hang on, I sent Tiona and Ryuu to gather surveillance from the air. Freya is checking on their status"

Freya "Tiona, where are you?"

Tiona "We are now above Orario. It is bad. Most of the citizens have evacuated. The guild is in ruins and burned down and so is the Hostess!"

Freya "Where are the creatures and the corrupted spirit"

Ryuu "I see 5 creatures around the Babel. There are 4 other creatures that are scattered running around the city. A lot of low level and mid level monsters are coming out of the Babel entrance. Fortunately the new walls in the Babel limit the rate that monsters that can escape. There are many dead adventurers."

Freya "So there are 9 creatures. Are there any creatures in the Daedalius area?"

Ryuu "Not at this time, but they are moving around quickly"

Freya "Do you see the corrupted spirit?"

Tiona "No we dont"

Freya to Finn "Finn, there are 9 creatures. 5 are around the Babel and 4 are scattered throughout the city. None near Daedalius street area at this moment but they are moving around quickly"

Freya "Finn, there are numerous low level and mid level monsters pouring into the city"

Finn "Ottar, take your group through the Knossos. Stay in touch with me and also with Tiona and Freya. I will call you when we get near the main entrance. That will hopefully draw the attention of the creatures to us and give you an easier entry to the surface."

Ottar "Understood."

Finn "Bete, princess carry Riveria so she can get some rest to save some mind."

Finn "Allen, please do the same with Haruhime."

Ottar also lifted up Lefiya and carried her princess style as his group headed to the Knossos entrance.

\- An Hour Later on the 5th floor -

Bell and Asfi finally caught up to Finn's group.

Finn then calls Tiona "Tiona, is there any big change? Where are the creatures?"

Tiona "Still 5 around the Babel. 4 scattered around. None in Daedalius street area. A lot of mid level monsters are now pouring out of the Babel entrance. No sign of the corrupted spirit"

Finn "Thanks, please update Ottar and Loki", which Tiona does.

\- A Few Minutes Later on the 3rd floor -

Finn's group reached the floor, they saw an enormous number of monsters collected on the floor. It seems that all the monsters above the 60th floor had collected on the first 3 floors of the dungeon.

Finn called Ottar "There are so many monsters that it seems the first 3 floors are entirely filled with monsters. We are now going to burn these floors down and hopefully draw the attention of the creatures."

Ottar "We are almost at the surface entrance. We will wait for your attack before opening the entrance"

Finn then confirms the situation with Tiona, while Haruhime chants Kohonoe and then Uchide no Kozuchi. Then Haruhime boosts Riveria, Finn, Filvis, Bete, Allen, Bell and Asfi.

Finn "Once Riveria attacks, Bell, you, Filvis, Allen, Bete and I will charge. We will have roughly 5 level 7 combatants against the 5 creatures. Hopefully not all of them are at level 7 strength. Riveria, Asfi, Welf and the remaining Xenos will stay and protect Haruhime. Beware of monsters coming from behind us."

Finn "Filvis, you are fighting at level 8. Take out the weakest creature as soon as you can so we can have numbers."

Filvis "Understood"

Finn "Bell, you do the same with argonaut."

Bell "Yes"

With Haruhime's boosting, Riveria casted Rea Laevateinn...


	92. Chapter 92

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Death Everywhere**

\- On the 3rd floor -

With Haruhime's boosting, Riveria casted Rea Laevateinn, causing a huge fireball on the floor.

As Riveria used a potion, Finn called Ottar "Riveria just launched her spell. We will attack as soon as the fire clears"

Ottar "We are heading to the entrance"

Tiona called Finn "We heard the explosion. No sign of any magic from here though. There are still 5 creatures around the Babel. 3 are closer. 2 are very nearby."

Tiona called Ottar in the Knossos "There are no creatures we can see near Daedalius"

\- A Minute Later -

Tiona called Finn "The 3 creatures ran inside towards the entrance area. The 2 other ones are also heading there but are about 1000 feet behind."

Finn "Filvis, Bell, you two lead. I will follow with Allen and Bete"

Finn "Riveria, your group should follow after us but leave a big gap and watch for anything weird"

Ottar calls Finn "Finn, we are outside on the surface. Do not see any enemy at the moment other than monsters that are no threat"

Bell "Filvis, try to keep the monsters away from me while I charge argonaut"

At that point, Filvis and Bell led the charge through the charred 3rd floor with the rest following. When they reached the 2nd floor, they saw all types of monsters like peludas, flame rocks and black rhinos on the 2nd floor. As Filvis chopped up the monsters, Finn kept a watch for the creatures. Soon, they saw 3 women in green armor cutting their way through the monsters.

Finn "Bell, Filvis, I see 3 creatures. Try to take out the weaker two. According to Tiona, there will be 2 more coming"

Bell and Filvis eagerly charged through the monsters to get to the creatures. Bete and Allen followed after them. Finn stayed behind and continued to fight the remaining monsters while keeping an eye out for the 2 other creatures.

Finn to Riveria's group "Try to pick up the dropped kaenseki from the flame rocks that I kill" and Asfi quickly followed after Finn to pick up the drop items.

As a creature got close, Bell launched firebolt with 2 minutes of charge. At his boosted power level, it was an enormous blast. That wiped out the monsters in front of him and burned away the left arm of the creature while causing a lot of other damage. Bell then immediately pressed his advantage before it could regenerate.

Filvis headed towards the weakest looking creature and attacked mercilessly. With the strength of a level 8, Filvis overpowered the creature and caused a lot of damage.

Bete and Allen ganged up on the 3rd creature, and the two had a big advantage fighting against one creature they gauged to have the strength of a mid level 7.

\- In the Daedalius Street Area -

Ottar and Asterius led the charge as their group quickly passed through the Daedalius Street area. Tiona and Ryuu were guiding them towards one of the creatures. As they approached the creature near the entertainment area, Tiona and Ryuu went off to patrol other areas of the city.

\- At the City Walls Near the Twilight Manor -

Mia, the Hostess girls and a few adventurers were having a lot of trouble with a creature. Suddenly Tiona and Ryuu approached from above, and Tiona jumped off from the flying dragon for a sneak attack. Even though the creature noticed the attack in the last second, the urga still landed a deep slash. Now Mia and Tiona ganged up on the creature together, with the hostesses attacking when an opportunity came up.

\- On the 3rd Floor -

With strength difference of about 1 level, Filvis scored several nasty cuts into the creature. At that point, Lyd jumped in to try to get a quick kill.

With the damage from the argonaut firebolt, Bell slashed the creature a few times. Suddenly Gros flew in to get an attack from the creature's back side.

Bete and Allen also were having a big advantage over their creature, but could not quite yet hit its magic stone.

Finn, in the meantime, killed stray monsters and kept a watch for the other 2 creatures. As soon as the two showed up, Finn went to intercept.

Finn "Bete, 2 other creatures showed up. Come help me" as Bete disengaged and followed after Finn.

Finn "Gros, Lyd, fall back to protect Riveria and Haruhime. I will be busy fighting those 2"

At that point, about 5 minutes had gone by, so Haruhime would be able to hold on for a few more minutes.

\- In the Entertainment Area -

Ottar, Asterius and the others surrounded one creature. After a couple minutes, they chopped off an arm, and then soon the magic crystal was destroyed.

Afterwards, Ottar called Tiona for surveillance information "Tiona, we destroyed 1 creature, where are the others?"

Ryuu "Tiona jumped off to help Mia fight with one near Twilight Manor. The other ones are all over the city... Wait, two are heading back to the Babel. Quick, go to the Babel. Otherwise the creatures will get an advantage in firepower."

Hearing that, Ottar, Asterius and their group rushed towards the Babel. However, Lefiya called Ryuu to come pick her up so she could launch attacks from the air against both monsters and creatures. Once in the air, Lefiya started chanting Elf Ring. Once done, she started chanting Rea Laevateinn.

\- At the City Wall Near the Twilight Manor -

Mia, the hostesses and Tiona were still ganging up on their creature together. Even with the big advantage in numbers including 2 level 6, Mia, the hostesses and Tiona were unable to do any better than an even fight.

At the same time, a group of lower level adventurers were engaging a large group of mid level monsters. Death and killing were happening all over the city.

Hermes, who was hiding behind the wall with a few others, called Loki.

Hermes "Loki, Tiona dropped in and is fighting against a creature with Mia and a few others. The fight is pretty even. How are the others doing?"

Loki "The latest we heard from Riveria is that Finn, Bell, Filvis and others were fighting with 5 though Bell managed to kill one and Filvis defeated another. Also Amid said that Ottar, Asterius and their group managed to kill one creature but are now chasing after 2 creatures that are heading into the Babel."

Hermes "If they get things under control, we could probably use some assistance near the Twilight Manor"

Loki "I will let them know to send some help"

\- On the 3rd Floor -

After a couple minutes, with the level difference in power, Filvis finally hit the creature really hard, knocking it against the far wall. Filvis then launched herself to go for the kill, immediately crushing both legs of the creature.

At that point, Bell managed to cut off the other arm of his creature before the first damaged arm was able to fully regenerate. With the huge advantage, Bell quickly managed to stab a dagger into the creature's magic stone.

In the meantime, Allen continued to fight his creature. Even without Bete, he still had an advantage as the creature was far from regenerated from their many deep slashes.

At the same time, Finn was having an even battle against his creatures while Bete was at a slight disadvantage against his.

Seeing Bete's situation, Bell walked slowly towards Bete while charging argonaut. Fifteen seconds later, Bell yelled "Bete, get away quick".

Realizing what was going to happen, Bete immediately jumped away, and Bell launched firebolt. The spell did significant damage to the creature, and Bell immediately jumped in to press his advantage.

Bete then sneak attacked the creature fighting against Finn, managing to land a deep slash.

\- Near the Babel -

Ryuu and Lefiya reached the Babel on the flying dragon. Fortunately, they got there before the creatures were going to go inside the dungeon entrance. That allowed Lefiya to cast Rea Laevateinn at the two creatures.

The spell caused some damage but with Lefiya's lower level, mostly made the creatures angry. One creature charged towards them while flinging rocks at them. The other went inside the dungeon entrance.

The rocks were hurled at high speed and the flying dragon was hit, causing Ryuu and Lefiya to fall towards the ground. As they plunged, Ryuu managed to catch Lefiya in a princess carry.

Unfortunately the creature ran towards them to get revenge. As they were landing, Ryuu looked at the creature and immediately realized that used to be Kaguya, causing tears in her eyes. During the descent, Lefiya had enough time to cast Arcs Ray at the creature.

Realizing that was no longer Kaguya, Ryuu carried Lefiya away as fast as possible towards the direction they came from, as the Arcs Ray brought them a few precious seconds by temporarily blinding the Kaguya creature. Unfortunately, the Kaguya creature was much faster and quickly caught up. Seeing there was no mercy in the Kaguya creature's eyes, Ryuu threw Lefiya as far as she could as she tried to defend herself.

With a single slash, Ryuu was brought down and the Kaguya creature chased after Lefiya.


	93. Chapter 93

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Under Pressure**

\- At the Hidden Location -

Freya called Ottar to let him know that Tiona and Mia needed assistance near the Twilight Manor. Ottar replied that they were rushing to the Babel and will immediately send Hogni and Gareth to assist Tiona and Mia. Loki then suggested that once they destroy the monster, will then turn Twilight Manor into an operating center.

Ottar also told them that the flying dragon was brought down. That completely freaked out Loki, but then she was relieved to hear that Ryuu saved Lefiya and that the two appeared to have a controlled landing.

Loki then called Riveria to get the latest on their situation and was glad to hear that it was so far so good. Riveria was also shocked and then relieved to hear about what happened to Lefiya and Ryuu.

Ais was also happy to hear that Bell was doing well having killed one creature already, and started to get excited thinking how much excelia he will gain if he killed another creature. Loki and Freya immediately told Ais to keep calm and not get overly excited. Instead, they suggested Ais take up some time and energy to look through Bell's old home.

Tione was worried about her sister in a battle against a level 7, but was also jealous that Tiona was getting all the action.

Tsubaki was just sorry that she did not get to witness the battle for Orario.

\- Between the Entertainment area and the Babel -

Realizing Ryuu and Lefiya are probably in danger, Ottar's group ran as fast as they could towards where the two landed.

Gareth "Hogni and I will head immediately for the Twilight Manor."

Asterius "Ottar, you handle the one attacking Ryuu and Lefiya and the monsters on the surface. I will go myself into the dungeon to assist Bell and Finn." which Ottar agreed with.

\- Near the Babel -

After Ryuu was brought down, the Kaguya creature chased after Lefiya. While the damage was severe, Ryuu was able to use a potion that allowed her to get up. At that point, the Kaguya creature attacked Lefiya.

Lefiya was quickly launched into a wall. As Lefiya was about to be killed, Ryuu slashed the creature in the back. The angry creature then went after Ryuu. Soon, Ryuu was brought down. At that time, Arcs Ray hit the creature which pausing it from the final blow.

Kaguya creature turned its head to Lefiya "You get to watch me kill your friend before I kill you"

With Lefiya mostly recovered after using a potion, Ryuu yelled "Run Lefiya!"

Lefiya did run away hoping to draw the creature away to buy more time.

\- At the City Walls Near the Twilight Manor -

Mia, the hostesses and Tiona were still fighting with the creature. At the same time, a group of lower level adventurers were fighting a large group of mid level monsters.

Hermes just received a call from Ottar, who told him that Gareth and Hogni will come assist as soon as they can.

Hermes also talked to Loki again and both were worrying about where the corrupted spirit went.

\- On the 2nd Floor -

Bell had the upper hand over the creature he was fighting, and continued to deal serious blows and cuts.

Allen was fighting with his creature but the fight was now reasonably even as the creature was healing.

At the same time, Filvis finally destroyed the magic stone of the creature she had disabled.

Things looked good as Filvis saw Bete and Finn beating on their creature.

Suddenly, another creature showed up and got a heavy strike against Bete from his blindside, launching Bete into a wall. That was a bad blow as bones were broken and the wolf was unconscious.

Seeing Finn getting double teamed, Filvis immediately went to assist Finn to even out the numbers.

In the meantime, Asfi immediately went to check on Bete, pouring 2 potions on him. She then princess carried the unconscious wolf back to Riveria's area.

At that point, a few more minutes had passed so only a couple minutes remained in Haruhime's boosting. To warn of the deadline, Riveria yelled out "About 2 minutes"

\- Near the Babel -

As Lefiya ran, the Kaguya creature realized she was trying to distract her from Ryuu.

Kaguya creature "No, I will kill this one first" leaving Lefiya no choice but run back to try to attack!

Smiling, Kaguya creature "Well, you are a dumb one" but suddenly a dagger hit though missed the magic stone.

Seeing the dagger attack, Lefiya turned and saw Ottar and his group.

Ottar "Lefiya, back away. Let me deal with this creature"

As Ottar approached, the creature lost interest in Lefiya and Ryuu and had a scary smile approaching Ottar.

Meanwhile Lefiya carried the injured Ryuu away and went to Amid who was guarded by the Hedin and the Gulliver brothers.

\- At the City Walls Near the Twilight Manor -

The creature managed to crush Tiona and knocked her 30 feet away against a wall. It then focused on Mia and the hostesses, and they were in a difficult situation again.

Tiona was in bad shape, but fortunately, an adventurer quickly went and pour a potion on her. It was not quite enough, but it was enough for her to reenter the fight.

\- On the 2nd Floor -

After the 2 minute warning, everyone was fighting as aggressively as they could while they still had the leveling benefit. In particular, Bell got many slashes in, as did Filvis. However, they were not able to get the finishing blow. Finn and Allen had close battles with their creatures, so losing the leveling would be huge.

Riveria "Lyd and Gros, please go assist Finn and Allen before the time runs out"

At that point, Bete woke up and got back on his feet. His wounds were healed but Riveria told him to stay back while Lyd and Gros assist. He would likely have to go assist though when the time runs out.

Just before the 2 minutes passed, Bell finally managed to cut off the arm of his enemy, and really started pushing.

Once the 2 minutes passed, Finn, Allen, Gros and Lyd were being pushed by the 2 creatures. However, Bell and Filvis still had a slight advantage over their creatures.

At that point, Bete jumped in, but he went after the creature Bell was fighting instead of going to assist the others. With a sneak attack landing a deep slash, the creature lost its concentration for a split second, which was all Bell needed to chop off the other arm. Bete then kicked the creature hard against the wall, and Bell quickly jump on and destroyed the magic stone. Bell and Bete then immediately went off to assist the others.

Seeing that Filvis was still fighting with a slight advantage, Bell went to assist Finn and Lyd, while Bete went to help Allen and Gros. As Bell rushed towards Finn and Lyd, he managed to charge argonaut for 5 seconds and casted the spell right at the creature from its blindside. If they could only take out 1 more creature, the numbers would be totally on their side.

After the level boosting ended, Haruhime quickly used a potion and then chanted Uchide no Kozuchi again even though it was far too early. Somehow, she managed to boost Bell and yelled "Bell, I dont know how long I can keep this up". With his level boosted again, Bell piled his attacks on as Finn and Lyd attacked from the other angles. After a minute, Bell managed to break one leg of the creature, just before Haruhime went mind down. Even he lost the level boost, Bell was able to land 2 quick lashes on the creature as Finn was able to badly puncture the other leg of the creature. With both legs disabled, Bell pushed the creature on the ground and the 3 of them held it down while Bell destroyed the magic stone.

With two creatures remaining, Finn "Bell, go help Filvis quickly finish her creature. Lyd go back to protect Riveria's group." After that, Finn backed up and allowed the others to finish the creatures while he kept watch for any other creatures.

Walking slowly towards Filvis and her creature, Bell was able to get a 1 minute charge before attacking.

Bell "Filvis, jump back"

After Filvis got out of the way, Bell launched himself at the creature and casted the argonaut firebolt at the same time. The 30 second charge resulted in enormous damage and burned away an arm as well as causing a lot of damage. Filvis and Bell then quickly jumped on the creature and Filvis crushed the magic stone.

That left one creature, and Bete, Allen and Lyd were having an even fight with it. Filvis then joined that fight while Bell went to check on status with Finn. In the meantime, Riveria reported to everyone that Bell was roaming assassin getting 2 more kills while Filvis also got another kill.

As Filvis, Allen, Bete and Lyd pounded on the remaining creature, an axe suddenly sliced off the head of the creature as Asterius announced his arrival.

\- Near the Babel -

Ottar was having an intense battle with the Kaguya creature while Amid was treating Lefiya and Ryuu. At that time, the Gulliver brothers were providing perimeter defense, wiping out nearby monsters.

Seeing an opening, Hedin did an sneak attack that resulted in a deep slash before jumping back out of the way.

With the injured creature, Ottar pressed his advantage and continued to pound away.

After treating Lefiya and Ryuu, Amid reported the situation to Loki, Riveria and Hermes.

\- At the City Walls Near the Twilight Manor -

Even though Tiona reentered the fight, they were having a tough time against the creature. Suddenly, Hogni jumped in, allowing Tiona to back off and use another potion.

Hermes was happy to report that Hogni and Gareth arrived to Loki, Riveria and Amid.

\- On the 2nd Floor -

With all 6 creatures killed, Finn made some quick decisions.

Finn "Bell, you and Asterius go help kill off the remaining 2 creatures. Keep a look out for the missing corrupted spirit"

Bete and Allen "Run to check the upper floors of the Babel. We need to get everyone out of the Babel. You have 15 minutes"

Finn "Everyone else, pick up any additional kaensaki and lets go to the dungeon entrance area. We need to seal the dungeon entrance for now.

As Bell, Asterius, Bete and Allen went off, Finn and Filvis kept killing monsters on the 2nd floor.

\- Fifteen Minutes Later -

After the kaenseki was gathered and the upper floors of the Babel cleared, Riveria casted Wynn Fimbulvetr into the 3rd floor entrance to stop the flow of monsters from the dungeon. The group then headed to the dungeon entrance area on top.

With about 100 pieces of kaenseki, the group collapsed the entire Babel building onto the dungeon entrance. With countless tons of rock falling into the entrance area, a good seal was achieved.

By that time, Bell had reached the Twilight Manor area and used a 30 second charge of argonaut as he blindsided the creature. The 30 second argonaut firebolt burned away most of a leg, and everyone jumped onto the creature with Tiona crushing the magic stone. After the argonaut use, Bell was nearly mind down. After a couple potions, he was feeling a bit better, but was still very tired.

Also Asterius reached the fight between Ottar and the final creature. With one slice, an arm was chopped off. Ottar and Asterius then jumped on the Kaguya creature and sliced on the second arm.

Ryuu yelled "Please wait!" stopping the two colleagues from performing the final blow.


	94. Chapter 94

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Memories**

\- At the City Walls Near the Twilight Manor -

Gareth and Hogni arrived and immediately joined the fight. Fighting along with Mia, they ganged up on the creature. allowing Tiona to quickly use another potion. After fully healing, Tiona jumped back in from a blind spot, landing a huge hit on the creature. The 4 level 6 adventurers then converged on the creature, pinning it to the ground. From that point, Anya jumped over top stabbing with her spear, breaking the magic stone.

After destroying the creature, the 4 level 6 joined the nearby adventurers to crush monsters in the area. They also quickly took control of the Twilight Manor to use as an operating control center and hospital.

Afterwards, Tiona and Gareth stayed at the Twilight Manor. Hogni, Mia and the hostesses led a group of adventurers to clear out the monsters near the Dian Cecht pharmacy for use as another operating center.

\- At the Babel -

Everyone looked on with a sad expression at the collapsed Babel. It was necessary and the seal appeared to be more than adequate. However, with all the memories that blew up with the Babel, it felt like a part of themselves died at the scene.

With no time to reminisce, Finn starting handing out tasks.

Riveria and Bete would stay at the Babel area with the xenos and a group of adventurers to set up operations at the guild building. They also worked to clear up remaining monsters near the center of town.

Allen and Filvis were to go to the Folkvangr to suppress the monsters and establish an operating center at the Folkvangr.

Finn and Bell would go join Ottar nearby to deal with the remaining creature.

\- Some Distance from the Babel -

After they were ready to kill the Kaguya creature, Ryuu yelled "Please wait!".

While they held it down, they looked at Ryuu who asked them to stop.

Ryuu took a few away to discuss "Let's find out what she knows, and I would like to find out if she remembers anything"

Amid "We need a god for the questioning" and calls Hermes.

Asfi was then quickly dispatched to pick up Hermes for the interrogation.

While they were waiting, Finn and Bell arrived. Finn quickly sent the Gulliver brothers and Hedin to Daedalius street and the colosseum to suppress the monsters and establish another operating center in the Daedalius street area.

When Asfi returned with Hermes, they gathered around the Kaguya creature that was still held down by Ottar and Asterius.

Finn "Ryuu, go ahead first"

Ryuu "Why are you helping the corrupted spirit?"

Kaguya creature "She is our god"

Ryuu "What does she want"

Kaguya creature "Revenge against the gods."

Ryuu "But Ouranos is now gone, why do you keep attacking?"

Kaguya creature "The gods betrayed nature. We are going to return the world to its natural state"

Ryuu "Nature is in harmony now"

Kagura creature "You are stupid. The world is completely unnatural, all because the gods upset the natural balance"

Ryuu "Do you have any part of your humanity left?"

Kaguya creature "What a stupid question"

Finn "Yes or no?"

Kaguya creature "I am what I am"

Ryuu "Don't you remember anything about your old friends? How can you do this to them?"

Kagura creature "She remade me and I have no memory or care of my past"

Finn "But you have lost. Your effort is in vain"

Kagura creature "No it is not. We accomplished our mission"

Ryuu "Orario will rebuild"

Kagura creature "Not when she is done"

Finn "But we have taken out all your colleagues and captured you"

Kagura creature "She is powerful and will get more powerful" making Finn's thumb hurt.

Bell "So you are not willing to reform"

Kaguya creature "You need to be reformed"

Finn "You have no means to do anything"

Kaguya creature "We shall see. Change is coming"

With the creature obstinate, they decided talk separately again while Asterius and a large group of lower level adventurers held her down. But this creature is a huge threat. They have no easy way to lock it down. But yet it may have valuable information that it is not sharing. After some thought, Finn asked Hephaestus members to start making a restraint for the creature and a steel holding cell with reinforced bars.

Finn "I dont like it. She thinks they can bring change, but the only one missing is the corrupted spirit"

Ottar "We have no idea how strong the corrupted spirit is"

Hermes "How are we going to hold her in a cell?"

Ottar "Until a holding cell is created, it will take at least 3 level 6 to hold her down constantly"

Finn "And there is the issue with the dungeon. How can we reopen the dungeon without monsters flooding in?"

Hermes "Without Ouranos' prayers, the monsters will continue to try to come outside"

Bell "We have the Knossos entrances"

Ottar "As long as there are no creatures guiding the monsters, we can use the Knossos"

Finn "We have little choice. Without the dungeon resources, our civilization will collapse"

\- At the Hidden Location -

Freya and Loki were really happy to hear the good news in Orario. Ais was particularly relieved to hear that Bell and her friends were safe.

Tione was itching to go back to Orario to help with the effort, as was Tsubaki.

As they approached their dragons, a green floating entity with numerous tentacles suddenly appeared...


	95. Chapter 95

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES!** **No More Bait and Switch!**

\- At the Babel -

The Hephaestus familia was busy building a holding cell for the creature in the guild. At this time, Riveria, Asterius and the Xenos guarded the entire Babel area and the guild building.

At the same time, Eina and the other guild employees were busy trying to plan for the rebuilding effort once the monsters are exterminated on the surface. However, everyone was still shocked that Ouranos is gone even as they covered the area where the column of light blasted through on the way to heaven.

Nearby, the 4 Gulliver brothers were in charge of monitoring the Kagura creature and held it down, though Ottar stayed nearby.

From the guild, Finn was coordinating the monster extermination all over the city. The 10 team leaders for the adventurer teams were Tiona, Bete, Allen, Gareth, Hogni, Hedin, Bell, Filvis, Shakti and Mia.

Finn's thumb still hurt like crazy.

Finn "Something is very wrong with the corrupted spirit being missing"

Hermes "What could it be doing? Ouranos is already gone. What else could it want?"

Finn "This is not making sense. They sent Ouranos away, but we sealed the dungeon. So what is their end game? There must be an end game."

Hermes "She said the corrupted spirit will get stronger"

Finn "How will it get stronger?"

Hermes "Spirits got their power originally from the gods"

Finn "We know that at least most of the creatures were essentially level 7. That means some other god gave falnas to former members of the Astraea familia."

Hermes "But Thanatos, Ishar, Ikelos and Penia all went back to heaven so who is the god?"

Finn "So who could it be?" giving Hermes a look.

Hermes "As far as I know, there is no god deep in the dungeon"

Finn "This makes no sense at all..."

\- At the Same Time at the Hidden Location -

As Loki, Freya, Ais, Ganesha, Dian Cecht,Hephaestus, Tione and Tsubaki approached their dragons, a green floating entity with numerous tentacles suddenly appeared...

Loki jumped "Oh crap"

Ais, Tsubaki and Tione immediately got between the gods and the entity.

Entity "Aria, come join me."

Loki jumped again "Oh crap" while Tione immediately got in front of Ais to protect her sister and Tsubaki did the same.

Freya immediately called Finn "Finn, the corrupted spirit is here. It wants Ais"

\- At the Guild -

The news of the corrupted spirit gave Finn and Hermes a heart attack.

Finn immediately got Bell's location and instructed Asfi to bring Bell to the hidden location.

Finn then called the Xenos and had Gros and Ray carry him and Haruhime immediately to the hidden location.

In the meantime, Hermes took command and notified everyone of the situation with the corrupted spirit. Hermes quickly warned the Gulliver brothers to be aware of potential risks involving corrupted spirit trying to free the creature, and also asked Ottar to keep an eye on the situation. The last thing they needed would be for the creature to get freed.

Riveria was really worried but there was no easy way to get any more people there to help. All they could do was to continue to clean up Orario.

\- In One Area of Orario -

Bell just received a call from Finn as his group was killing a large number of monsters.

Finn "Bell, the corrupted spirit is after Ais. Must be after her great spirit powers"

Bell "Oh no"

Finn "Asfi is coming to get you"

Bell "Alright", and gets a number of potions from other adventurers as Asfi came by to pick up Bell.

\- Back at the Hidden Location -

The tentacles of the entity started to gather and move in a creepy way around Tione and Tsubaki. Ais used arial from behind to help them knock back the tentacles. At the same time, Tione spun the urga like a fan, chopping off a lot of the tentacles, while Tsubaki used double short swords to cut off the ones that got by Tione. However, even as tentacles are cut, more keep coming.

Entity "The Great spirit wind, the Great spirit power, come join me Aria" and the tentacles spread out even faster.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Freya "Ais, you and Loki fly back to Orario. This entity wants you. There must be a reason and you need to leave now. We cannot risk you falling into its control"

Ais "But goddess Freya, you will be in danger"

Freya smiled "You are the love of my favorite. I cannot allow you to be harmed. You need to go back to Orario. I will be fine."

Freya "Loki, run now. We will be fine"

Freya and Loki "Ais, that is an order"

Following orders, Ais carried Loki away in arial, as the entity tried to follow.

Tione "No you don't. Not over my dead body"

However, more and more tentacles moved at high speeds towards the amazons. Soon the entity grabbed both Tione and Tsubaki like a portugese man-of-war jellyfish catches its prey. The tentacles suddenly turned brilliant green, and the two amazons screamed in unison, as their bodies took on a greenish hue.

At that point, Freya calmly smiled at the entity.


	96. Chapter 96

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES!** **No More Bait and Switch!**

\- In the Skies Above Orario -

Asfi just picked up Bell, and they immediately headed for Bell's old village. As they sped along, they could see Gros and Ray carrying Finn and Haruhime far ahead of them.

Suddenly, Bell got a call from Loki.

Loki "Bell, this is Loki. Ais and I are headed for Orario. Freya stayed there with Tione and Tsubaki and they are fighting with the corrupted spirit."

Bell "Goddess Freya stayed behind?"

Loki "Yes, she will probably use her powers to help"

Bell was worried to death "What type of powers does the corrupted spirit have?"

Loki "The green spirit has lots of tentacle that seem to be very deadly. It wants to combine with Ais some how. That must be how it will get stronger"

Bell "We are rushing there as fast as we can. Finn, Haruhime, Ray and Gros are ahead of Asfi and I by couple minutes"

Loki "Good, so both you and Finn should be level boosted"

Bell "Hurry back, and we will get there as quickly as we can"

Asfi "We are a couple hours away"

\- A mile ahead of Bell and Asfi -

Finn's thumb was throbbing and he knew there was incredible danger ahead.

Finn "Haruhime, when we get near the enemy, boost me and then fall behind and boost Bell. Then you head towards Orario as fast as you can. Dont wait as you are important to protecting the city if something went wrong"

Haruhime "Understood" and then Finn communicated the same to Bell.

\- At the Babel -

Riveria was worried to death but they had to control the city. So she did not interrupt the monster extermination process. She did let Ottar and Filvis know, as they would be the strongest combatants if needed.

The Hephaestus familia was done building the restraints and a holding cell at the guild. Thus, while Lyd and several xenos watched over the Kaguya creature, Ottar stayed inside the guild to provide support if needed. Free from creature-watch duties, the Gulliver brothers helped to kill any monsters near the town center.

Lefiya stayed with Riveria while Asterius substituted for Bell in a monster extermination team. Eina and the other guild staff were really busy with rebuilding plans. Hermes was in command in coordination with Riveria.

Hermes "Now we know its next step - get more power by merging with Ais"

Riveria "We have to stop that"

Hermes "But this is still not the end game"

Riveria "The creature already said the goal is to turn the world back to the way it used to be."

Hermes "This sounds like the goal of a dissatisfied god"

Riveria "Yes, but who is the god?"

Hermes "That is something we are missing"

\- Back at the Hidden Location -

After Tsubaki and Tione were captured by the corrupted spirit's tentacles, they screamed in agony while their bodies took on a greenish hue.

Freya then calmly smiled at the entity, but the entity immediately turned its eyes away from Freya. It realized how deadly Freya's charm is. With the corrupted spirit looking away, it could not approach Freya, but at the same time, Freya could not charm the corrupted spirit. However, Tione and Tsubaki were suffering badly. Suddenly a voice called out.

Unknown female "Dont waste time here. Go fetch the wind spirit"

After the instructions, the corrupted spirit released the 2 amazons and flew out towards Orario.

Freya "Are you going to come out? Demeter?"

Unknown female "Demeter?"

Freya "I can see your soul also."

Demeter "You dont seem surprised"

Freya "How clever. Play the framed innocent with Dionysus being the real villain. Either way, one of you would be cleared when the other took the blame. So both plant gods are trying to overthrow the system"

Demeter revealed herself while Freya kept her cool. At that time, Tione and Tsubaki were seriously injured still with some green hue on their bodies.

Hephaestus "What happened to them?"

Demeter "The plant life was invading their bodies, but there was not nearly enough time for the conversion process to finish"

Freya "So when they recover, they are going to come after you"

Demeter "It will take them a long time to recover from the plant life attack."

Freya "So Demeter, what are we going to do? Girl fight? Use our powers?"

Demeter "I do not want to return to heaven. So we can have a girl fight if you really want to do that"

Ganesha "You want to return the world back to the old world"

Demeter "Yes back to nature. This is unnatural"

Hephaestus "I am afraid that is not going to happen. The corrupted spirit cannot defeat all the adventurers."

Demeter "After merging with the wind spirit, all the power of nature would combine to defeat all the adventurers"

\- In the Skies Close to Bell's Village -

Ais and Loki were speeding towards Orario.

Loki "Ais, something is catching up really quickly. Hurry"

Ais "I am going as fast as I can"

Loki "Let me off"

Ais "You would be defenseless"

Loki "If it catches up, you cannot fight while carrying me. We have no choice. Let me off and go towards Orario as fast as you can. Remember we all love you and dont go to the dark side"

Realizing that Loki was right, with tears in her eyes, Ais let Loki off on a mountain road. Ais then sped towards Orario at a faster speed with less weight.

Still, the corrupted spirit was faster. About 10 minutes later, it was time for a battle.


	97. Chapter 97

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES!** **No More Bait and Switch!**

\- On the Way from Orario towards Bell's Village -

Finn received a call from Loki.

Loki "Ais dropped me off on a country road. I am walking towards Orario now"

Finn "Be careful Loki"

Loki "There was no choice. I had too much dinner, and I was slowing Ais down. The corrupted spirit was catching up"

Finn "I do not see Ais yet. But we are not yet even half-way"

Loki "Go as fast as you can. I saw the corrupted spirit flying by. I think it is still faster than Ais"

Finn "We will go as fast as we can. Be care on your stroll towards Orario"

Loki "You take care of Ais. This spirit power merging thing is sounding really scary."

Finn "We shall", after which Finn called Riveria to have an expedition launched to pick up Loki and the others.

\- At the Guild -

Riveria received the call from Finn while in the middle of coordinating all the monster extermination teams.

Finn "Ais had to let Loki off so she can fly faster away from the corrupted spirit", making Riveria worry even more.

Riveria "We can send Filvis, Bete, Lefiya and Allen. That is all I can spare. They will rush there on horseback but it will take more than a day"

At that time, Hermes had the guild members gather a few fast horses while calling Filvis, Bete, Lefiya and Allen for the mission.

Riveria "How long before you reach Ais"

Finn "Well we have been flying for about 40 minutes. Assuming Ais is flying about the same speed, we must fly another 20 minutes to reach her"

Riveria "Hurry Finn, please"

\- Back at Bell's Village -

Freya and the other gods were squared off against Demeter as Tione and Tsubaki were seriously injured still having some green hue on their bodies.

Suddenly, Hermes' voice blasted from the occulus communication device "Demeter, you will be severely punished for this"

Demeter "So you allowed Orario to hear our conversation" to which a smiling Freya nodded.

Demeter "Well it does not matter any more. And what makes the children more worthy than the plants and the animals and the monsters."

Ganesha "We all know the children are destined to follow us after the age of the gods pass"

Demeter "And why must the age of the gods pass"

Hephaestus "Let go Demeter. It is progress as the next great age is the age of the children."

Demeter "It is decay and decadence. I will not fade into obscurity."

Freya "It does not matter. You will fail"

Demeter "No, the merged spirits will succeed"

Dian Cecht "So it was you who corrupted the spirits to start with deep in the dungeon"

Demeter "Yes it was me. I started with the great earth spirit who was loyal to me"

Demeter "Then deep in the dungeon, one by one, I trapped the great fire spirit, the great light spirit, the great water spirit and the great lightning spirit."

Freya "So you descended in secret"

Demeter "Yes I did. I was able to hide inside the earth. You were dumb enough to send the great spirits into the dungeon. I took advantage of that. If the annoying great wind spirit would not have fallen in love with that human, I would have succeeded long ago."

Demeter laughed "Now her daughter will pay the price!"

At that time, three adventurers arrived at Bell's village.

Demeter "Now to deal with you and your friends"

Demeter "Do not look at Freya or she will charm you. Finish those 2 amazons immediately. They are dangerous if we allow them to recover"

The 3 adventurer started stabbing Tione and Tsubaki, causing them to scream in pain.

\- At that Time Closer to Bell's Village -

The corrupted spirit was faster than Ais. As it got close, it was time for a battle.

Instructed to buy as much time as possible, Ais launched a whirlwind towards the corrupted spirit. The whirlwind served 2 purposes, both to push back the corrupted spirit and to launch herself forward in recoil"

Corrupted spirit "Aria, you are only delaying the inevitable. You need to join us"

Ais kept launching more wind attacks to keep pushing back the corrupted spirit.

Corrupted spirit "We need you to join us as undamaged as possible, but you keep resisting too much. So you will be punished", launching a lightning strike and a fire strike at Ais.

Ais' ariel armor protected Ais to a great degree, but she was still burned and electrocuted. It caused her to lose control of her wind and plummeted towards the ground. Not wanting to damage Ais any further, the attacks stopped. But then Ais again regained her wind and started to fly away again.

Corrupted spirit "We can keep doing this, but how many strikes can you endure?"

Ignoring her enemy, Ais suffered more attacks while her altitude kept dropping as she plummeted after each attack. After a few minutes, she was at tree top level. As Ais kept flying, numerous branches grabbed the flying princess and plucked her from the air.

Corrupted spirit laughed "The fly is caught in the spider's web" as Ais struggled to get free. But the more she struggled, the more branches joined in to wrap and squeeze her.

At that point, the corrupted spirit extended its green tentacles around Ais while turning brilliant emerald green, causing her to scream in great agony.


	98. Chapter 98

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES!** **No More Bait and Switch!**

\- At the Guild -

Riveria and everyone were sweating over what will happen between Ais, the corrupted spirit, Freya and Demeter.

Riveria "How did it find them?"

Riveria thought to herself "Perhaps it is a spirit finding another spirit thing"

Hermes "Curse her, that bitch fooled us all. I Hermes have been tricked!"

Riveria "Hermes sama, that was a very clever plan, and we always want to see the good in others"

Ottar came to check on Freya "Any word on my goddess?"

Hermes "They are afraid of Freya's charm so she is safe at the moment. However Tione and Tsubaki are down and in danger"

Ottar showed a sign of emotion that was completely unlike him, but he is completely unable to protect his goddess.

Everyone was completely frustrated with their complete helplessness in the matter.

Hermes calls Finn to get an update.

\- On the Way from Orario towards Bell's Village -

Finn received the call from Hermes.

Hermes "Do you see anything yet?"

Finn "We saw a green flash and a faint green glow now far over the horizon. We are moving as fast as we can.

Bell was worried that the worst may have happened to Ais, but they simply could not go any faster. To prepare, Bell drank a couple potions to have as much magic available as possible.

At the same time, Haruhime also drank a couple potions preparing to chant kokonoe.

They then received a call from Loki.

Loki "Ais dropped me off on a country road. I am walking towards Orario now. Worry about Ais and what happened at the village. I am having a good stroll."

Finn "Loki, be careful. Dont get eaten by a wild animal"

Loki "Dont worry, I got good at climbing trees lol"

\- Back at Bell's Village -

The gods watched as the 3 adventurers stabbed the injured Tione and Tsubaki. The screams of pain could be heard through the occulus by Riveria, Hermes, Loki and Finn, making them really angry.

As the adventurers attacked the struggling Tione and Tsubaki, the multiple stab wounds were getting really bad. However, the injuries also triggered a change. Tione suddenly went into beserker mode, as the damage passed a threshold as she was absolutely furious.

The beserker mode Tione scrambled up and viciously attacked the 3 adventurers. The level 6 Tione was attacking at a higher strength due to her beserker skill, and landed hits on the adventurers that seemed like they were fighting around level 3 to 4.

Watching this, Freya to Demeter with a smile "You are in trouble now"

Demeter "We shall see"

Tione managed to cut off the arms of one adventurer, but regeneration started immediately. That repeated itself also with severe injuries to the other adventurers.

Hephaestus rolled her eyes "Even more creatures."

Demeter "I thought creatures are just a wonderful invention. I am quite proud of it"

Dian Cecht "Disgusting is more like it."

Demeter "Does not matter, when the merged spirit wins, the surface world will be ruled by plants and monsters."

Freya "We will not allow that to happen. You will not overthrow the system and ruin the children"

At that point, the beserker Tione managed to destroy the magic stone of one of the adventurer creatures, with 2 remaining. That made Demeter visibly worried as a beserk Tione is a frightening one to deal with.

Hephaestus "You now look worried"

Realizing that the plan is not working well, Demeter decided to run away. Freya did not chase, as she knew there would be plenty of time and opportunity to deal with Demeter.

Seeing Demeter escaping, Hephaestus immediately took the opportunity to go pour potion on the severely injured Tsubaki. Though the wounds were healed, Tsubaki still could not stand up due to the lasting effects of the corrupted spirit tentacle attack.

Tsubaki "Thank you, goddess"

Hephaestus smiled "How could I watch you suffer"

Seeing Tione fight, Tsubaki was amazed.

Tsubaki thought "I dont know how Tione is able to get up..."

Freya to Finn and Hermes "Demeter is running away. The berserk mode Tione has destroyed one of the adventurers that is actually now a creature. Thank Ouranos that it is a creature with only about level 4 strength"

Hermes "Good to hear. So you have the situation under control?"

Freya "Demeter decided the situation is turning against her and ran off. We can find her later. Tione is fighting with 2 more creatures. Tsubaki is still disabled, but Hephaestus was able to treat her stab wounds."

\- On the Ground -

Ais, wrapped by numerous branches, was being attacked by the corrupted spirit's green tentacles. The tentacles turned a brilliant emerald green, causing Ais great agony.

Corrupted spirit "Aria, give in, you will soon be a part of us"

Ais "Never", launching a wind attack that pushed away the green tentacles.

Corrupted spirit "You are just making me start from scratch, and you will suffer even longer now."

Then the tentacles were launched again, turning a brilliant emerald green again.

As Ais screamed, she managed to push the tentacles away again. After several tries, this was starting to annoy the corrupted spirit.

Corrupted spirit "Guess we will have to wear you down a bit first", launching a lightning attack at Ais. Ais tried to deflect the attack with ariel, but it was not very efficient while she was bound by numerous branches. As she screamed in pain, she tried one last ariel attack at the corrupted spirit, which succeeded in pushing the corrupted spirit back some distance and stopping the attack.

However, that only bought Ais a few seconds of reprieve as the attacks soon started again. Having used most of her wind power, Ais could not launch another serious counterattack. The lightning was pure torture. As she suffered through the torture, the ominous black flames arose, and everything around Ais was getting darker and darker.

Still in the air, Finn's thumb was throbbing like crazy.


	99. Chapter 99

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES!** **No More Bait and Switch!**

\- At the Guild -

As Riveria and Hermes continued to coordinate monster extermination teams around the city, the reports continued to be good. Sector after sector, things were clearing up. The citizens who evacuated were already starting to return to their homes in some areas.

However, the biggest concern in their minds was about Ais, Freya, Loki, Bell, Demeter and the corrupted spirit. While Filvis, Bete, Lefiya and Allen left asap on horseback, they were more than a day way.

\- On the Way from Orario towards Bell's Village -

Finn's thumb continue to throb like crazy, but they still could not see Ais or the corrupted spirit. They could see a green glow over the horizon, but they were not certain that was where they need to be.

Eagerly watching, Haruhime was ready to chant Kokonoe as soon as they could confirm some sighting.

As they continued, Bell was really worried that the worst may have happened to Ais. However they simply could not go any faster.

Just like Bell, Finn was worried that something bad was happening to his adopted daughter.

\- Back at Bell's Village -

The berserk-mode Tione continued to fight with 2 adventurer creatures, while Tsubaki still was unable to lend any assistance. Tione managed to land quite a few hits, but the creatures also rapidly recovered.

After a few more minutes, Tione managed to kill off another creature and could thus focus on the remaining one. Freya reported this progress to both Finn and Riveria, and everyone prayed that Tione could finish the last one before the beserker mode runs out. They did not dare hope Tione could keep fighting if the beserker mode ends, as Tione may end up right back lying on the ground...

\- In a Wooded Area Closer to Bell's Village -

As Ais suffered through more torture by the corrupted spirit's lightning attack, the ominous black flames got stronger and stronger. Everything around Ais was getting darker and darker.

Even the corrupted spirit was wondering why the space around Ais took on a darker and darker aura.

Corrupted spirit "Aria, you caused your own suffering. Now stop fighting back and join us"

Ais in a scary voice "NO!"

Corrupted spirit "Aria, give in. Resistance is futile. You will join us and you will like it" then wraps its tentacles around Ais.

Ais in a scary voice "NEVER!"

When the tentacle became brilliant emerald green, Ais screamed in agony again.

This time, Ais was too worn down to fight back, and the corrupted spirit was able to continue with its conversion process. As the process continued, the tentacles got more and more brilliant green while Ais continued to scream in pain. At the same time, the aura got darker and darker as the black flames burned uncontrolled.

For a few minutes, the corrupted spirit's conversion process continued unabated. Suddenly, an explosion took place.

\- On the Way from Orario towards Bell's Village -

Finn, Gros, Haruhime, Ray, Bell and Asfi were getting closer to the village as well as a wooded area where the green glow was coming from. As they got even closer, the green glow suddenly got brighter and brighter.

Finn "Haruhime, we are getting close, start chanting"

After Kokonoe was activated, Haruhime then chanted Uchide no Kozuchi to boost Finn and then Bell. At the same time, Bell started charging argonaut.

Suddenly, they saw a huge explosion in the wooded area. Afterwards, the green glow was gone but replaced with a dark dark aura.

Finn "I hope that is not what I think it is. We need to go in, Bell. Haruhime and Ray, you need to stay back. If anything happens, fly back as fast as possible to Orario."

\- In a Wooded Area Closer to Bell's Village -

The explosion freed Ais from the branches and the tentacles. However, Ais was now visibly surrounded by a black flame.

Corrupted spirit "You did not join but you are now different"

Ais then launched a black fire ariel attack at the corrupted spirit, which countered with a combined attack of fire, wood, lightning, light and ice. When the two attacks collided with each other, there was yet another explosion. The explosion blown Ais clearly out of the forest. From that point, Ais proceeded to fly away from the area at high speed.

Corrupted spirit "You are not escaping" and started chasing after Ais.

\- Arriving at the Wooded Area -

Finn, Gros, Bell and Asfi watched Ais exploded out of the wooded area. Seeing black flames surrounding Ais' body, they realized that the black flames may have completley taken over. They started to chase after Ais, but then they saw the entity with green tentacles chasing after Ais. At which point, Finn quickly updated Riveria and asked Haruhime and Ray to follow Ais from a safe distance, while they took on the enemy.

With more than 3 minutes of charging, the furious Bell immediately launched an argonaut firebolt at the corrupted spirit. Seeing Bell's huge attack, the corrupted spirit launched its combined fire, wood, lightning, light and ice attack. As the two attacks collided, there was an even larger explosion.


	100. Chapter 100

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES!** **No More Bait and Switch!**

\- Back at Bell's Village -

The berserker mode Tione continued to fight with the remaining creature. With a substantial difference in strength levels, the magic stone was soon destroyed. After the victory, Tione's feelings calmed down, and soon collapsed with berserk switching off.

Seeing this, Hephaestus immediately poured potion to heal Tione's severe stab wounds. With the stab wounds to both Tione and Tsubaki healed, the 2 amazons were still suffering from the after-effects of the tentacles attack by the corrupted spirit. Both were unable to fight or even get up.

Freya updated Riveria and Hermes on what happened.

Freya "Tione has defeated the last creature, but she has collapsed again with her skill turning off. Both Tione and Tsubaki are unable to fight at the moment. Thankfully the dragons were not scared off, so I am going to head to where Bell and Finn are. I will send everyone else back to Orario for treatment and protection."

Hermes "Perhaps you should pick up Loki. Haruhime and Ray are following Ais to monitor the situation."

Freya also updated Loki "The creatures have been defeated. We are coming to pick you up. Then we will check on Bell and Finn before going to find Ais. Haruhime and Ray are trying to follow Ais so we know where she went to."

Loki "Alright good. Make sure they dont lose Ais. Hurry, I dont want to be eaten up by the wild animals!"

At that point, Freya, Dian Cecht, Hephaestus and Ganesha carried Tione and Tsubaki to the flying dragons and started their trip.

\- In the Sky above the Wooded Area -

Bell's argonaut firebolt met the combined elements attack from the corrupted spirit. After a huge explosion, it appeared that the firebolt won, and the corrupted spirit was blown right back into the woods. It also suffered some serious damage and lost a lot of tentacles.

Bell, Gros, Finn and Asfi immediately headed towards the damaged spirit. While Bell launched a series of firebolts Asfi threw several fire bombs. However the spirit was not finished, and it started to regenerate.

\- Some Distance North of the Wooded Area -

Haruhime and Ray followed Dark Ais, who flew at high speed away from the corrupted spirit. After some time, with no one attacking her, Ais landed and collapsed from great pain in her current state.

Haruhime reported to Riveria and Hermes "Ais has landed, but she continues to have a black flame surrounding her body. She seems to be suffering a lot, but we are going to keep our distance. If she moves away from here, we will let you know. We have flown about 10 miles north of where the battle took place, which was about half way between Orario and Bell's village."

Riveria "Finn last reported in as they started battling with the corrupted spirit. He has not reported since."

That got Haruhime very worried but there was nothing anyone can do except hope that Ais will recover from this strange state.

\- In the Wooded Area -

With the corrupted spirit starting to regenerate, Bell and Asfi launched more firebolts and fire bomb strikes, trying to incinerate the spirit. At the same time, Gros flew close-in to attack while Finn attacked with his spear. Furious at the thought of what happened to his adopted daughter, Finn activated Hell Finegas to gain tremendous strength. Asfi also took out her dagger and joined Finn and Gros in attacking together.

Bell, held off, and charged argonaut. While charging, he monitored his friends so he could immediately jump in and assist if needed. But he wanted as long a charge as he could get as the grand bell tolled.

\- At the Guild -

Riveria and Hermes continued to coordinate all the activities but the news about Ais had devastated Riveria. Nevertheless, the situation around Orario continued to improve. There were only 5 areas of the city that continued to have a lot of monster sightings. Despite some injuries and transfer of personnel to assist with the corrupted spirit, the extermination teams continued to do a good job in destroying monsters.

With the containment of the monster threat, most of the citizens were on the way back into the city. Some have already returned home.

Riveria called Loki to give her the bad news about Ais and also a status update on Orario. Lefiya wanted to go to Ais, but they lacked the means to travel there quickly.

After some time, they received another call from Freya as they were underway. Unfortunately, Tione and Tsubaki were still in bad shape. Their plan was for Dian Cecht, Hephaestus and Ganesha to bring the 2 suffering amazons straight back to Orario. Hopefully Amid would be able to help them.

\- In the Wooded Area -

With the added strength from Hell Finegas, Finn took the lead role in battling the corrupted spirit. Fortunately, the damage from the attacks from Finn, Asfi and Gros made it difficult for the corrupted spirit to launch magic attacks.

However, despite their attacks, the corrupted spirit was recovering faster than they could inflict damage. After a couple minutes, the spirit was able to launch a lightning attack that knocked out Asfi and Gros.

Despite the lightning attack, Finn was still struggling and fighting. With Hell Finegas added to the anger from Ais being turned into something scary, Finn forced himself through the lightning attack and stabbed his spear deeply into the corrupted spirit without regard to his own pain and damage. The stab then caused an explosion which blew Finn fifty feet away.

At that point, Bell jumped in with almost 3 minutes of argonaut charge. He combined firebolt and his argonaut charge onto his blades. Just like Finn, Bell stopped caring about his body and jump right through the crazy amounts of magic that was now wildly spilling out of the damaged spirit. Ignoring the effects from the out-of-control magic, Bell slashed deeply into the corrupted spirit.

When the flaming blades cut into the corrupted spirit, another explosion ignited and it blew Bell a long distance away. While in one piece, Bell appeared to be unconscious.


	101. Chapter 101

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES!** **No More Bait and Switch!**

\- In the Sky About Half Way from Bell's Village to Orario -

The deities, Tione and Tsubaki were riding the flying dragons towards the battlefield. Freya was flying by herself while Dian Cecht was with Tione, Hephaestus was with Tsubaki and Ganesha flew by himself. With Freya's soul searching ability, she located Loki on the ground being chased by a wild boar.

Freya waved to the others "Go ahead. I am going to pick up Loki now" and started heading down towards Loki.

As Freya and her dragon landed, Loki was so pleased to see Freya, particularly with the dragon scaring away the wild boar.

Loki "Never thought I would be so glad to see you lol"

Freya "Which direction did Ais go?"

With Loki pointing the direction, they quickly took off to look for the battlefield.

Freya and Loki then called Riveria and Hermes to let them know that Loki has been rescued.

\- At the Guild -

Riveria received the call from Freya and Loki.

Loki "Momma, Freya found me"

Riveria "That is good. We still have not heard a peep from Finn. We are very worried"

Freya "Yes, it has been more than 30 minutes since the battle started. We are searching for them now. I do not yet detect their souls."

\- Above a Nearby Wooded Area -

Freya and Loki flew in the direction that Ais originally traveled. After some time, Freya detected the souls of Finn, Asfi, Bell and Gros, as well as what could be multiple souls belonging to the corrupted spirit.

Freya "They are alive but something is strange. More souls than I expected"

As they got closer, they saw Asfi and Gros, who were up and about. They also saw Bell and Finn, both of which seemed to be lying on the ground near Asfi and probably unconscious.

Freya "At least they look alive"

Loki "What happened to the corrupted spirit? Why did they not answer any calls?"

As they were landing, Freya "I see their souls but the green entity seems to be missing. Those souls seem to be in a different state."

Besides Bell, Gros, Finn and Asfi, Freya and Loki saw several humanoid beings surrounding another humanoid lying on the ground.

Loki "Who are those?"

Freya "Those are all spirits and great spirits at that."

Loki agreed "Yes they are"

Asfi approached them "Yes, Bell's final attack seemed to have freed the other great spirits from the great earth spirit."

Freya "We were told the great earth spirit was the one who sided with Demeter"

Asfi "Yes, after splitting up, they are in the process of locking up the great earth spirit"

Loki "Great, if that is under control, how are Bell and Finn?" as the 3 walked towards the two heroes who appeared to be unconscious lying on the ground.

Asfi "Bell appears to have suffered a mind zero after launching 2 argonaut attacks, the second of which the grand bell tolled. Finn was severely injured but we have stopped all the bleeding and treated with potions. Bell also had a lot of injuries which were also treated with potions."

Freya bent down and looked at Bell. To make the unconscious child more comfortable, she gave him a lap pillow.

Freya whispered in Bell's ears "You did well, hero. Wake up soon so we can go save your girlfriend"

Seeing Freya taking care of Bell, Loki went to check on Finn.

Loki smiled "Finn, my lap is too bony so a lap pillow will not be very comfortable. But you did great. Lets wake up soon so we can go save Ais"

When Loki looked at Asfi with an evil grin on her face, Asfi realized that her lap was in danger and ran for her life.

Loki laughed "Dont worry Andromeda, I would not make such a request. But why did you not take our calls?"

Asfi "We also tried to call, but it seemed that our occulus were disabled by the lightning attacks and the explosions."

Freya and Loki then called Haruhime to check on Ais.

\- About 10 Miles North of the Wooded Area -

Haruhime received the call from Freya and Loki.

Freya "Haruhime, we found Bell and everyone. They have defeated the corrupted spirit. How is Ais?"

Haruhime "She is still on the ground. She has not moved around that much and seems to be dealing with the pain and suffering."

Freya "When Bell and Finn wake up, we will head to where you are."

Haruhime "We are about 10 miles north of you"

\- At the Wooded Area -

After calling Haruhime, Freya and Loki called Riveria and Hermes.

Loki "Riveria, the corrupted spirit has been defeated. Finn and Bell are unconscious but should be alright. As soon as they wake up, we will go to where Ais is."

Riveria "Thanks Loki, go take care of the little pallum and Bell"

Loki "We will call when they wake up"

After about 30 minutes of lap pillowing and hair petting, Freya decided to try updating Bell's status. Rolling the young hero over, the armor was removed and a drop of blood activated the falna. Freya smiled when she saw that Bell leveled.

level 6

strength: 1586 - 0

endurance: 1713 - 0

agility: 1704 - 0

dexterity: 1429 - 0

magic: 1750 - 0

skill: argonaut, ox slayer, love, charm

magic: firebolt, link

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape, magic resistance, extreme magic resistance

The extra mind from the status update also seemed to help, as Bell started to stir. When he opened his eyes, he was still very tired and immediately was given a couple potions.

Worried Bell "What happened to the corrupted spirit"

Freya hushed him "You delivered the final blow and defeated it. Close your eyes and rest some more. I will wake you when Finn wakes up", closing Bell's eyes.

Loki also decided to give Finn an update and was extremely pleased when Finn made level 7.

After another 30 minutes, both Finn and Bell were finally up and using more potions.

Bell "Where is Ais? What happened?"

Freya "She is about 10 miles from here. Asfi will tell you what happened."

Asfi "Braver's spear penetrated the green corrupted spirit deeply, causing magic to wildly spill out in a completely uncontrolled fashion. Then Bell's argonaut slashes were the finishing blows. The corrupted great earth spirit lost its hold on the other great spirits, and the green entity split back into the individual great spirits. No longer under control, the great fire spirit, the great lightning spirit, the great light spirit and the great water spirit are now sealing the powers of the great earth spirit."

Freya "Bell, we can go to Ais now. Most relevant to helping Ais,you have leveled up. You now have your own charm skill and a new magic called link that helps you connect your thoughts with others. It is new magic that no one is familiar with, but it seems physical contact will improve its results. Your magic resistance and love skill have both been very much upgraded. It seems a lot of these new abilities are caused by your strong feelings for helping Ais. These may come in handy with Ais real soon."

Asfi smiled "The magic resistance is probably due to the way your charged through the insane amount of magic spewing from the corrupted spirit"

Loki "Finn, congrats also as you are now level 7!" putting a smile on Finn.

At that time, the great spirits interrupted "We have sealed the great earth spirit with our magic, and it is unable to cause further trouble. We will now fade from existence. You should keep the great earth spirit in a guarded location far from the dungeon, where it could get stronger."

Freya "You are going to fade from existence and never returned?"

The great fire spirit "Yes, we are. We were sent here to save the children. We ultimately failed. Now that the children are strong enough to defeat us, there is no need for us to stay."

Loki "I see, then may you rest in the peace and harmony that the new age will bring now that the children have grown up"

The great water spirit "Yes that is apparent."

The great fire spirit looked at Bell and Finn "You freed us. I have a gift for you." as 2 sparks of fire headed towards Bell and Finn and merged with them.

The great fire spirit "This gives you limited protection from magic fires."

Bell bowed "Thank you"

Finn also bowed "Thank you. May I ask if this will help protect us from the dragon's fire?"

The great fire spirit "A perceptive one. Yes it will help but not provide complete immunity. This will only work 3 times but you can control its activation"

With that, the 4 great spirits faded from their sight. The group then started the short flight to help Ais on the flying dragons.


	102. Chapter 102

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES!** **No More Bait and Switch!**

\- At the Guild -

Dian Cecht, Ganesha and Hephaestus arrived at Orario carrying the injured Tione and Tsubaki. With advanced warning, Amid was there to meet them.

Riveria and Hermes were also outside to welcome them back to the city.

After a short examination, Amid applied some potions and some magic. At that point, Tione and Tsubaki were carried to the hospital.

Amid to the deities "I think they will be alright. The conversion process was thankfully stopped, but it caused a big shock to their system. It is not something that can easily be healed using potions. It will take a lot of rest and some rehabilitation."

Riveria "Thank Loki they will be alright. Thank you Amid"

Hephaestus "Thank you Amid. If there is anything that can help which can be purchased or gathered, please let me know"

Amid "I will do that. But let's first see how they react to the treatment."

After the short talk with Amid, the deities and Riveria went inside. Before they met, they sent 3 junior adventurers to bring the flying dragons to Filvis, Bete, Lefiya and Allen. With the defeat of the corrupted spirit, only Bete and Lefiya would be going to help out with Ais. Allen and Filvis would be returning to Orario.

\- About 10 Miles North of the Battlefield -

Bell, Asfi, Freya, Finn, Loki and Gros headed towards Ais' location. They started planning what they will do with Ais.

Loki "We need to see the black flames that surrounds her body"

Finn "The fire resistance gift from the great fire spirit may become very helpful. Bell and I should probably be the ones approaching Ais."

Freya "In addition to standard magic resistance, Bell has an additional extreme magic resistance development capability that is extremely rare. In fact I have never seen it before. So Bell should probably be the one that makes first contact."

Loki "Probably correct. But we have to see those black flames first when we arrive"

Freya "Bell, do not just run to Ais. We need to stay calm and think very carefully to protect both Ais and ourselves"

Freya "Bell, also remember that we dont know Ais' state of mind right now. That new link magic may be helpful here."

Bell "I tried to activate it a few times but I have not tried it with someone"

Freya "You should do that after we land. It may help you reach into Ais' consciousness."

Finn "Bell, you can experiment on me."

Bell "Thank you Finn"

Loki "But lets do it after we land. We cannot afford any accidents in the air"

Freya "Needless to say, you also have charm now so you should practice it a few times before using it on Ais. I already mentioned that your love skill has gotten more powerful. These should all help you get through to Ais."

Bell "Goddess, I understand"

Finn and Loki "You can also test those on us."

Bell "Alright thank you again"

Finn "No need to thank us. Ais is our adopted daughter"

Bell "Understood"

After about 20 minutes, Bell, Asfi, Freya, Finn, Loki and Gros reached the area close to where Dark Ais was. Before landing, Finn updated Riveria about their location and plans. Haruhime immediately went to greet them.

Loki "Any change?"

Sad Haruhime "No, she has not move much, and still obviously in agony."

Pointing to the great earth spirit, Haruhime "Who is the prisoner?"

Freya "That is the great earth spirit who was corrupted by Demeter and Dionysius. His powers have been sealed but we need to keep a careful watch."

The group then got closer to get a better look at Ais and the black flames.

Finn "Bell, let's practice your magic and skill. You can use me as a subject first"

Haruhime "Bell sama, I will also volunteer if you more subjects" as Asfi kept her distance.

Bell used his link magic on Finn, and he saw images from Finn's thoughts about Fiona, pallums, Loki, Gareth, Riveria, Ais, monsters, getting and then Tione... Deciding to stop, Bell tried the same with Haruhime, at which point he saw images of Haruhime's family, Mikoto, Aisha, Ishtar, Hestia and then many images of Bell.

Deciding that the magic testing was going too far, Bell started to test the charm skill. First with Finn, it had an instant impact as he could see love in Finn's eyes, which made Bell immediately shut down the skill. He then tried Haruhime, and he immediately stopped when her tail wagging going out of control...

When it came to Loki's turn, seeing how apparently successful Bell was, she decided that they should start discussing strategy.

Loki "Freya, do you see any similarity between that flame and the black dragon"

Freya "I have never seen the black dragon, but there are similarities from what I understand"

Freya "Ais' soul has a different color. Instead of the gold color, it is darkening ... to a dull dark color. And there is a disturbing trend towards more darkness"

Loki "This sounds bad"

Finn looked at Ais "She seems to be suffering and not directly attacking anything"

Loki "I think you should be prepared for an attack like the one you mentioned from before - that black wind arial she used in the Knossos?"

Bell "Yes but I think we just need to approach her now. Is there any other planning to be done?"

Freya "I would suggest that Bell approach her, but Finn follow a few steps behind"

Finn "Haruhime, please boost Bell and I", after which Haruhime chanted Kohonoe, and then Uchide no Kozuchi to boost Finn and Bell."

After the boosting, Bell started walking carefully towards Ais while Finn followed about 10 steps behind.

Ais was still crouched over in agony, so Bell kept approaching.

When Bell got within 20 steps of Ais, Ais finally realized that they were there.

Dark Ais looked to Bell in anguish "Bell, you and Finn must leave. I am dangerous"

Bell "Ais, I love you. I will never leave you when you need help" and walked closer towards Ais.

Dark Ais "Bell, I am changing. Changing into something horrible."

Bell "Ais, I love you. I cannot leave. I will save you"

Dark Ais "These black flames now link me to that monster. It is the embodiment of hate. It killed my father and captured my mother. If I lose control, it will claim me also. But I cannot stop it. Please kill me so I do not become a part of that monster."

Bell "We will find a way to help you. We will train and get stronger. We will defeat the monster and save your mother."

Dark Ais "I now understand more about this power. I cannot stop it. I am starting to lose control of myself."

Bell "No, Ais"

Loki was completely devastated as she has never seen Ais defeated in such a way, but Freya kept her mouth shut. They could only watch and hope that Bell can get through to Ais.

Dark Ais "Bell, you must be the hero. You must use your blades and end me"

Dark Ais with tears streaming down "You must end me. I am sorry, but you must do it. That is the only way for me."

Bell "I will be your hero, no matter how difficult it is"

Dark Ais in tears "Then come to me and do what you must do"

Bell in tears "I am coming now Ais. Remember I love you no matter what happens."

As Bell walked towards Ais, his blades aimed towards her heart. But before they stab into Ais, he dropped the blades and instead hugged her tightly. The black flames suddenly raged and engulfed both of them, with a mushroom cloud exploding thousands of feet into the sky.


	103. Chapter 103

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES!** **No More Bait and Switch!**

\- At the Guild -

Riveria and Hermes were talking to Freya and Loki as Bell approached Ais. Suddenly, they heard a huge explosion and all was silent.

Riveria "Lady Freya, what happened? Loki?"

But still no response.

Eina "Lady Riveria, what happened?"

Hermes "We do not know. It suddenly all went silent as Bell walked up to Ais"

Eina in tears "Bell, everyone, please be alright"

Junior adventurers came inside to report that they see a huge column of smoke. With that news, Riveria and everyone else went outside to see with their own eyes. Indeed, a huge column of smoke was roughly in the direction they believe the group to be at.

Worried Riveria "Loki, Freya, please answer!"

Then Riveria called Bete and Lefiya on the flying dragon.

\- In the Sky Heading towards the Mushroom Cloud -

Riveria "Bete, Lefiya, do you see a huge column of smoke?"

Lefiya "Riveria, yes we see it. It is exactly we are heading to. What happened? Is Ais ok?"

Riveria "I was talking to Loki and Freya when this happened. I cannot get through to them any more"

Lefiya crying "Please be alright..."

Bete "Shit!"

Riveria "Well, we still have our powers, so Loki is still with us"

Hermes "Ottar just checked in and he is fine. So Freya is also still with us"

Riveria's observations made Lefiya and Bete feel better, but they could not get the dragon to fly any faster...

\- At the Base of the Mushroom Cloud -

After Bell hugged Ais tightly, the black flames suddenly raged and engulfed both of them. Then a mushroom cloud shot thousands of feet into the sky.

The raging fire even knocked Finn back 20 feet. Fortunately, Freya and Loki took shelter behind some trees that really shielded them from the huge winds.

After everyone gathered themselves, they saw a huge black flame where Bell and Ais were. They also noticed white particles were flocking towards the flames, giving them hope that was Bell's argonaut powers. With these white particles disappearing into the black flame, so no one was sure what was going on.

Loki "Oh no, how could anyone survive this huge black flame. Ais said the black flames are related to the dragon and she could not fight its powers. I wonder how all these are related"

Freya "I still have my connection with Bell, so he is still alive in there somewhere"

Loki "And I still have my connection with Ais. Hang on Ais."

Freya "That huge wind blew away my occulus. Could someone try to find it?"

Haruhime "My device also got damaged" as she tried to find Freya's device that got blown away.

At that point, Finn got up and walked to the 2 goddesses while pouring a healing potion on himself "Quite a fire, but those white particles may well be Bell gathering argonaut powers. But my thumb is still aching badly and my occulus was damaged by the explosion."

Finn "Freya, so you still have your connection with Bell? I dont know how Bell is surviving that intensity in the center of those black flames. When the fire blazed, I used up one of my fire resistance gifts and I am still burned. If not, I would have been very badly burned."

Freya "In addition to standard magic resistance, Bell has an additional extreme magic resistance development."

Surprised Freya announced "And the color of their souls seem to be merging."

Loki "What, what are they doing in there? Naughty rabbit being naughty?"

Freya rolled her eyes "Probably Bell's link magic at work. Ais' soul color was gold with black streaks from the black flames that was getting darker and darker. Bell was clear and bright."

Freya "Now it is swirls of gold, black, white and clear mixing together"

Finn warned "Since Bell may be gathering argonaut powers, we better back off from here" as everyone moved to about 500 feet away from the black flames.

About 5 minutes later, there was an explosion within the black flame. But the black flame remained and appeared unaffected by the explosion.

Finn "That may have been Bell fighting the black flames."

Depressed Loki "That may not be enough"

All of the sudden, the grand bell started tolling and white particles were again gathering around even quicker and penetrating the black flames.

Emotional Freya "Little one, fight hard!"

Finn showing rare emotions "Wow, Bell is fighting hard. Fight hard Bell! Be the hero!"

Loki cheered on "Come on Bell! Save my girl! Please! Please! Please"

Freya "Just like the souls, the white is mixing in with the black trying to counter its bad effects. Fight hard, I know you can do it."

While looking for the occulus, Haruhime "Come on, Bell. You can do it" while her tail was wagging wildly.

Gros "Come on Bell. Fight fight fight"

Asfi "Come on Bell. Do it. Do it"

Ray "Come on Bell. Come on Ais"

Everyone continued to cheer heartily for Bell and Ais.

With the grand bell tolling, Finn had everyone move more than 1000 feet away from the black flames. In addition, the goddesses took shelter behind a large rock.

After 5 minutes, there was a great deal of white light that was mixed in with the black flames. And then a huge explosion happened. Fortunately, they were far away, and the explosion did not do much damage. Behind the large rock, Freya and Loki were unharmed.

It took a few minutes for the smoke and dust to clear. When visibility returned, the black flames were gone, apparently dispersed. In its place was a deep crater, and in the middle of the deep crater were 2 bodies lying motionless on the ground. Bell and Ais were in a tight embrace though apparently unconscious. With Bell appearing to be charred badly, Finn immediately ran and jumped towards the two of them with potions in hand.

Freya "Little one!"

Loki "Ais!"


	104. Chapter 104

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES!** **No More Bait and Switch!**

\- At the Guild -

Riveria and Hermes received a call from Lefiya.

Lefiya "There was another huge explosion all of the sudden, and the flames and mushroom cloud disappeared."

Riveria "What is left?"

Lefiya "We are still far from there, but we just see clear sky now"

Riveria "Let's hope that is a good omen"

Lefiya "Pray to Loki that is so"

Bete butting in "Of course they are fine. We still have our powers, don't we? So Loki is fine. That means bunny brat and Ais are fine. Dont freak out"

Hermes yelled "Yes the hero will be fine!"

Riveria "Someone check on Ottar", as a junior adventurer ran looking to the King.

Eina "What happened?"

Riveria "The big mushroom cloud disappeared after another explosion", causing Eina to run outside to check.

\- In the Sky Heading towards Where the Mushroom Cloud Was Located -

After talking to Riveria, Lefiya and Bete continued to fly towards their destination.

Lefiya "You were so sure that they are fine."

Bete "I am not sure, damn it"

Lefiya "Then why did you sound so confident"

Bete "I am not confident. I am worried like crazy, but we have to keep up appearance, damn it"

Lefiya thought "Wow even Bete is so torn up inside..."

Lefiya "Ais, please be alright."

Bete "The only thing we know is that Loki is still in one piece"

\- At the Base of the Mushroom Cloud -

After the smoke and dust cleared, the black flames were gone. When everyone saw the 2 bodies lying motionless in the middle of the crater, their heart skipped a beat. Finn was first to act and immediately ran towards the two unconscious bodies.

A few moments later, Finn reached Bell and Ais. They were in a tight embrace, and both appeared unconscious. Bell was badly burned all over his bodies while Ais did not seem badly damaged. Without waiting, two healing potions were poured Bell.

Everyone else watched Finn, while the two goddess carefully check their connections with their 2 children.

Loki "Ais is still connected to me. Thank me"

Freya "Bell is still connected, but the connection is weaker than normal"

At that point, Finn poured an additional potion on Bell and a second one on Ais just in case. After Bell's burn wounds were healed, Asfi came over to help Finn move Bell and Asfi.

Asfi was shocked "Naked bunny!"

Finn laughed "That is not a surprise for him to be in that flame for so long" as he covered up the naked bunny with some of his clothing.

Finn and Asfi then carried the two back to the rest of the group. Everyone could easily tell that both are still alive. In Bell's case, they don't know what else may be wrong. In Ais' case, they don't know if Dark Ais will immediately return when she wakes up...

Freya "Haruhime, did you manage to find our occulus"

Haruhime "Not yet, I will keep looking" with Gros and Ray helping Haruhime search.

Finn "It is incredible that Bell survived that flame. He must have used all the fire resistance gifts in additional to his extreme magic resistance development ability."

Freya "Well his burn wounds are healed though we still can see how red his skin is."

Freya then checked on their soul.

Surprised Freya "Bell's soul has been contaminated with some of the black flames"

Loki "Oh no."

Sad Freya "Yes, it is mostly clear and transparent, but now with a lot of gold and black strands."

Loki "How about Ais?"

Freya look carefully and then realized that the two children had a sort of exchange of soul 'matter'.

Freya "Well Ais' soul is mostly gold but with black strands and a lot of clear bright strands. Her soul is definitely much less dark than before. It seems Bell took on a lot of Ais' black flames. I hope he can handle it."

Worried Loki "It would be frightening if Bell and Ais both went dark", making everyone's hearts skipped a few more beats.

After thinking it over for some time, Freya decided to update Bell's stats, and discovered that his magic stat and endurance stat shot up an enormous amount.

level 6

strength: 0 - 0

endurance: 0 - 335

agility: 0 - 0

dexterity: 0 - 0

magic: 0 - 294

skill: argonaut, ox slayer, love, charm

magic: firebolt, link

development ability: luck, abnormal resistance, escape, magic resistance, extreme magic resistance

Freya "Bell's magic stat and endurance stat both shot up by about 300 points. That is extraordinary even for him"

Loki "Well he had to endure that inferno flame for many minutes and probably used 2 argonauts back to back with the second one of the grand bell ringing variety. So that makes sense for whatever that is worth"

Loki thought about updating Ais, but decided that she did not want to mess with Ais in this strange state.

Everyone waited around while Haruhime, Gros and Ray searched for their occulus devices, but they still could not find those devices.

After some time, Bete and Lefiya arrived, and they decided to move the unconscious Bell and Ais back to Orario. With the decision made, they headed back to Orario on their flying dragons.


	105. Chapter 105

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES!** **No More Bait and Switch!**

\- At the Guild -

As Riveria, Hermes and Eina anxiously waited for some answers about what happened to Bell, Ais and the entire group, they received a call.

Lefiya "Bell and Ais are both alive."

Riveria "Thanks Loki!"

Bete "See I told you!"

Lefiya "You were sweating it out just like us. Now you are talking big"

Riveria laughed "Emo wolf! So everything is fine?"

Lefiya "Not exactly. There has been some type of mind merging with Bell and Ais. We do not what the two of them would be like when they wake up, but we are bringing them back to Orario."

Eina "Why did we lose contact?"

Lefiya "The attacks destroyed their occulus devices."

Riveria "Is there any risk at this point to them or to the city?"

Lefiya "We do not know. Finn said to make sure Ottar, Filvis and several other strong adventurers will be there to receive us, just in case"

Bete "Finn is just being a worry wart"

Riveria "What do you mean mind merging?"

Lefiya "Lady Freya said there has been mixing of their souls when she looked at the colors of their soul"

Hermes "Wow"

Eina "OMG!"

Worried Riveria "Getting married is good, but this is ridiculous"

Eina "Is Finn sure he wants to bring them to the city with such big unknowns?"

Lefiya "Finn wants Amid to be there. He wants more powerful adventurers to be available when they wake up, just in case."

Riveria "Do we have any idea when they will wake?"

Lefiya "No, it is going to be an unpleasant wait" with everyone understanding the stress they are in for.

\- In the Sky Flying Heading towards Orario -

After talking to Riveria, Hermes and Eina, everyone continued to fly towards their Orario.

Lefiya "Finn, Eina wanted to know if we are sure we want to bring them back to Orario in the current state. What risky is this?"

Finn "As long as there are enough strong adventurers, we should be fine. Of course there is some finite risk."

Freya "Haruhime can boost people if needed. But we are taking a chance"

Loki "Yes we are, but we are taking a chance if we do not have enough help if something did not go right"

Finn "Well we could meet them some distance from Orario and wait until they wake up..."

Freya "Yes but like we discussed, being in Orario may help settle Ais' troubled mind"

Loki "Yes, there is no perfect solution"

Finn "I guess we go with the original plan"

Freya "Agreed."

Posturing Bete "Bunny boy will be fine. So will Ais"

Lefiya "Look at who is talking big again"

Bete "Little elf, when have you gotten so punky? May be I will throw you off" scaring Lefiya...

Loki "Settle down, Bete", calming down the wolf.

Freya "Well, I am still connected to Bell and the level of connection is good again"

Loki "Same with me and Ais. Let's hope that is a good sign"

Loki "If things go really bad, I guess we can remove our falnas"

Freya "Yes, but they would have to be subdued first"

Finn "Has anyone ever had their falnas removed before?"

Loki "Not recently. But I heard that it has happened before, though it was before I descended"

Freya "I have heard the same"

Freya "The color of their souls are still the same. The level of mixing is about the same"

\- An Hour Later -

The group arrived in Orario. Waiting for them were Ottar, Filvis, Gareth, Riveria, Hermes, Hephaestus, Amid, Dian Cecht, Ganesha and Allen. When they landed, everyone could still see that both Bell and Ais were unconscious.

After landing, Amid spent some time check Bell and Ais. Other than some healing, there was apparently nothing she could do.

Amid "Their bodies are fine. I cannot heal their mind."

Freya "Well in that case, there is no point to keep them at the hospital. We need to make a decision about where we keep them."

Loki "Probably should be in my place or your place"

Freya "Yes, they need good memories. From looking at their souls, I would guess Bell is in better condition than Ais"

Loki "In that case, we should keep the 2 of them in my place. Ais has lots of good memories there."

Freya "I can stay there also."

Finn "I think the 2 of you should stay in different places, just in case. At least until they wake up ok."

Freya "That is a good precaution. Alright, I will stay at the Folkvangr"

Loki "We will have a level 6 and a level 4 watch them at all times."

Freya "Do you need help?"

Loki "We have enough personnel for everyone to rotate"

Freya "Do you want Ottar to stay there?"

Loki "I think that is a good idea. Ottar and Filvis together would be able to help keep things under control, even if both Bell and Ais become out of control"

Having made their decisions, everyone headed to the Twilight Manor together. There were no incidents along the way. After Bell and Ais were settled in a room together, Freya gave Bell an update just in case there is a surprise. When there was no change, Freya's group headed back to the Folkvangr.

\- At Ais' Room -

Loki "Well, we put their beds next to each other, so hopefully that would give them pleasant thoughts when they wake up"

Tiona "Well, I will take the first watch"

Anakitty "I will watch with you"

Lefiya "Alright, I will come by to relieve you in 6 hours"

Tione "I will be with you"

Finn "Who will be next?"

Riveria "I guess that is me"

Alicia "Lady Riveria, I would like to assist you"

Finn "Good, then I would be next"

Raul "I will help if that is alright"

Loki "So we have figured out the watches. It is time for dinner!"

Finn to Tiona and Anakitty "We will send dinner to you."

On their way out, Finn posted multiple sentries outside the door and down the hallway.

Tiona looking at Bell and Ais "Come on argonaut, please wake up"

\- The Next Morning -

It was the watch for Riveria and Alicia. The executives came and checked, but so far neither Bell or Ais showed any reactions. Some time later, Freya and Ottar came by, but still there was no reactions from Bell or Ais.

Everyone then went to the meeting room to discuss.

Loki "Well, no news on those 2. How is Orario?"

Freya "The monsters have been exterminated"

Ottar "The problem is that the main entrance has to be sealed to keep monsters from attacking the city. We are now working out Knossos trips to get to the 18th floor for gathering magic stones for the city's needs."

Loki "Is there no way to calm this situation down"

Finn "Does not appear so at this time. This could well become a long term problem."

Gareth "This is not sustainable"

Loki "We need to capture Demeter"

Freya "When Bell and Ais have been taken care of, then I can go search for her"

Suddenly, Amid came in the meeting room.

Amid "Where is Filvis? What is the serious problem?"

Everyone else looked puzzled at each other.

Finn "What serious problem?"


	106. Chapter 106

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES!** **No More Bait and Switch!**

\- At the Twilight Manor -

As everyone was meeting about Bell and Ais, Amid came in looking for Filvis.

Amid "Where is Filvis? What is the serious problem?"

Everyone else looked puzzled at each other.

Finn "What serious problem?"

Amid "I am not sure. I think Lefiya sent for help."

Riveria "Lefiya? Has anyone seen Lefiya?"

When no one answered, everyone was worried about what happened to Lefiya and Filvis. After some searching, no one could find Lefiya.

Freya then asked to go up to a high floor to look for them. Before going any further, Lefiya came in through the gates carrying Filvis, who was very weak but still conscious. See this, everyone rushed down towards the gates.

Riveria "What happened?"

Lefiya "I dont know. We went to shop for some potions for Bell and Ais, but Filvis suddenly collapsed"

Amid did a check on Filvis, and had a very worried look on her face.

Amid "Let's carry her inside. This is very strange"

After laying Filvis on a bed, Amid did some more checking. She did not seem to believe what she was finding...

After a long breathe, Amid "It seems her body is disintegrating. It is as if her body is dissolving away"

Lefiya "Oh no"

Loki "Well we are still connected"

Riveria "Amid, you know that Filvis is a creature?"

Amid "Yes, but why would her body suddenly start disintegrating?"

Finn "The corrupted great earth spirit, with the powers of the other great spirits, rebuilt her dying body many years ago. The great earth spirit's powers have been sealed, and the other great spirits have faded from this world"

Amid "So the power that rebuilt her body has disappeared"

Lefiya "Yes, creatures could regenerate using some type of plant based magic"

Amid connected the dots "And that is gone now."

Amid "Well, I can try healing her using some potions and my magic"

Everyone decided to give Amid some space to treat Filvis, though Riveria, Loki and Lefiya stayed with Amid and Filvis.

Freya quietly "Loki, I need to look into something. I will be back pretty soon"

\- An Hour Later -

A tired Amid came out of the room with Loki and Riveria. Loki immediately went to get some potions to help Amid recover her mind.

Amid "I was able to stop the damage with magic. It seems that as long as I use magic to heal her, then the degeneration is stopped. But when I stop using magic, then the degeneration starts again. I dont know what to do. I dont have enough magic to do this indefinitely"

Loki "Please do your best. I know you cannot hold up continuously. Is there any potion that can help?"

Amid "I tried, and it helped a little. We need more potions of the highest quality"

Riveria "I will go round that up", and left for Miach's location after having some lower level members collect recovery potions for Amid.

Loki "Is there anyone else in your familia that can help tag team with you?"

After some thought, Amid "Yes, please help me send for them" and another 2 lower level members headed for the Dian Cecht familia's pharmacy.

At that point, Freya came back with Haruhime.

Loki "Oh very clever"

Freya "How is it working?"

Loki "It is a race. Amid is able to stop the degeneration, but when she stops from exhaustion, the degeneration gets worse"

Freya "Alright, Haruhime, please go assist Amid when she is ready to start treatment" as Haruhime went to explain her magic to Amid.

\- Another Hour Later -

Haruhime, Amid and Loki came out of Filvis' room. Amid looked extremely tired, as did Haruhime.

Freya "How did it work" as she handed more recovery potions to them.

Amid "With the incredible level boost, I was able to improve her situation considerably. Now my two assistants are applying their healing magic while I take a break"

At that point, Riveria returned with several high quality potions.

Riveria "We bought all of their inventory"

Amid "We will use this in my next session."

Freya "Haruhime, how long do you need to rest?"

Haruhime "I can do something in an hour or so"

Amid "I will also rest for an hour"

Riveria "Can my healing spell work?"

Amid "Let's go try in a little while."

At that point, Finn came by.

Riveria "How are Ais and Bell?"

Finn "No change"

Everyone "Uggggg"

\- Few Minutes Later -

Riveria went to try her healing spell on Filvis, and it seemed to help. Despite her high level, the effect was less than Amid's magic though. They then tried having Riveria and Amid's assistants healing at the same time, and the results were improved though still less than a boosted Amid.

Amid "Haruhime and I will rest for an hour or so. When we are ready, we can try it together along with one of the expensive potions all at the same time"

\- Another Hour Later -

Haruhime activated Kohonoe and then Uchide no Kozuchi. She then boosted Amid and Riveria, and they immediately started healing Filvis together. After a few minutes, they made a few incisions into Filvis' arms and upper body and poured the high potions onto those locations.

After about 15 minutes of intense healing, Amid had to stop, though Riveria continued with her stronger stamina as a first class adventurers.

After a couple recovery potions, Amid evaluated Filvis and was pleased with the results.

Amid "There is substantial improvement compared to when I tried to heal Filvis myself. Even when I was boosted by Haruhime. In the areas that were cut and healed with the high potions, they have almost completely recovered. The degeneration at those locations are now very low. It is as if the plant cells there have almost been completely replaced by elf cells."

Loki "So we can do this again tomorrow? From what Filvis told us, most of her lower body may be plant?"

Amid "Yes, I am glad we have several highest quality potions, but we should apply it when we are using our magic. That is the reason I started the healing potion in the upper body as that is mostly elf cells. I will work my way lower and lower. Hopefully we can help the elf cells regenerate in the lower body step by step"

Freya "Filvis is going to be cut a lot"

Lefiya "There is hope. And she may be cleared of the plant cells"

Amid "Don't get your hopes up too much. I am not sure we can save her legs"

Loki "I think by the time we are done, she may cease to be a creature. Though she may be back to a level 3 even if she doe not lose her legs. Lefiya, prepare yourself if the news is not good."

Lefiya "I will help her. I am sure she will be happy to be rid of the plant cells"

Finn "What about the creature being held at the guild"

Riveria "We should tell Ryuu, but it appears the original person's mind is gone"

Loki "If Ryuu wants to try, I will support her. But it is probably hopeless"

Freya "Actually, would that other creature be alive if it degenerates as fast as Filvis has been?"


	107. Chapter 107

hi piggy here

this will not be updated for at least 2 months.

i got involved in a COVID19 mask-alternative startup and we are working 7-24.

flying to texas today from california.

will be there in the middle of the hot humid summer around the same time as 2 hurricanes will show up

wish me luck in meetings with education, sports, government and entertainment sectors


End file.
